Africa File, August 29, 2024: North African Competition in the Sahel; Libya on the Edge; Burkina Faso is Spiraling
Aug 29, 2024 - ISW Press![](https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/CT%20Logo_85.png?itok=8xUBGCA0)
North Africa–Sahel Engagement. Algeria and Morocco are vying for economic and political influence in the Sahel to assert themselves as regional leaders and legitimize their positions on the Western Sahara, a disputed territory on the coast of northwest Africa. Morocco is spearheading its engagement with the Sahel through an initiative to connect the landlocked central Sahel states to the Atlantic Ocean via a Moroccan port in Western Sahara.