Individual traffickers and trafficking interest groups in this region have created mutually beneficial agreements with political elites that protect their markets. Dialogue between Nigerien government officials and traffickers has also created avenues to mediate local conflicts and contain trafficking-related violence. Tens of thousands more, including small-business owners, bankers, city officials and security personnel, profited from the migrant trade. But Niger’s gold rush has been a mixed blessing. The problem, in Niger’s case, is that policies aimed at disrupting trafficking in the north could inadvertently end up fueling instability.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 11, 2020 11:48 UTC