Armed Groups in Sahel Region Exploit Lithium Resources to Fund Activities
Armed groups in the Sahel region are reportedly exploiting lithium extraction and trade to finance their operations. This development is occurring in a semi-arid belt of Africa, stretching between the Sahara Desert and tropical savannas, where countries like Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad possess promising lithium deposits. The rising global demand for lithium, driven by the growth of electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, has made these resources attractive to insurgent and criminal organizations. Groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP are leveraging weak governance and oversight in the region to generate revenue. They achieve this by taxing miners, controlling mining sites, charging traders and transporters, and demanding protection payments. Informal mining and weak regulatory frameworks in countries like Nigeria create significant opportunities for these criminal groups. In Mali, armed groups previously involved in the gold economy are now extending their taxation and extortion acti... 
