This report is part of the project of Alianza por la Solidaridad and Oriol Puig entitled “The Sahara, a desert in movement: beyond the Southern Border and the Mediterranean Sea”. It was financed by the DevReporter Grant, promoted by Lafede.cat-Organitzacions per a la Justicia Global with European funds.

Sahel countries are acting as new EU walls, with more border controls and increased deportations to curb migration flows. Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, in particular, take over Europe’s dirty work, often violating ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) regional protocol on free movement.