AGADEZ, Niger—For centuries, the city of Agadez served as a gateway between sub-Saharan and North Africa. All that started to change in August 2016, when Nigerien officials began implementing a controversial anti-smuggling law that effectively criminalized the transport of migrants. Adou Ama, a slender, 40-year-old man in Agadez, once earned several thousand dollars a month arranging the transport of West African migrants from Agadez to Libya. A truck transporting Nigeriens and other West African nationals on the outskirts of Agadez, heading north toward the Libyan border. As jihadist groups make inroads with economically disenfranchised communities south of Agadez, local leaders warn that young people will prove susceptible to jihadist recruitment.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 11, 2018 14:15 UTC