The US has found some of its efforts to fight extremists hobbled by some African governments, whose own security forces are ill-equipped to launch a US-style hunt for the militants, yet are reluctant to accept US help because of fears the Americans will overstay their welcome and trample their sovereignty. Read Article US considers drone base in Niger as a way to fight militancy in Maghreb
Even in the best of times, one of every three girls in Niger marries before her 15th birthday, but now in a severe drought, parents pushed to the wall by poverty are marrying off their daughters at even younger ages. Read Article Hunger bride numbers increase as drought survival strategy
In Niger, the measure of a person is calculated in livestock. It is how families are fed, disputes settled, and dowries paid. So when a nomad sells their last camel it is a sign of just how hopeless the future looks for thousands in a country ravaged by drought. Read Article Nomads so desperate for food they're selling their last camels
Tinariwen have won international acclaim for their raw and haunting hymns about dignity, tribal unity, self-awareness and their deep nostalgia for an embattled desert culture. Read Article Touareg band Tinariwen electrifies the Sahara
Man leading efforts by Libya's interim government to find the ousted former leader said Qaddafi may have been near the southern village of Ghwat, about 300 kilometres north of Niger, three days ago. Read Article Qaddafi 'last seen heading south'
Two Frenchmen kidnapped at gunpoint by possible al Qa'eda-linked militants from a restaurant in central Niamey have been found dead after a desert rescue operation by the Niger military, officials said. Read Article Two French hostages found executed in Niger desert
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A discussion at Manarat Al Saadiyat will examine the art and photography of European artists travelling 'through the lights and images' of this region, writes Nick Leech
The Orient, expressed in Abu Dhabi
