Pope appeals for peace and development efforts in the Sahel region

Speaking during the Regina Coeli address on Sunday, Pope Leo XVI expressed concern for the volatile situation in the Sahel region that stretches across the southernmost latitudes of North Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.

“I have learned with concern of the news regarding the increase in violence in the Sahel region, particularly in Chad and in Mali, where recent terrorist attacks have struck,” the Pope said, speaking on the day after a meeting in the Vatican with representatives of the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel.

He assured his prayers for the victims, expressed his closeness to all who suffer, and voiced an appeal for sustained efforts to promote peace.

“I hope that every form of violence may cease, and I encourage every effort for peace and development in that beloved land", the Pope said.

In addition to its ecological and climatic significance as it marks the transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north, the region is a geopolitical space long shaped by internal instability and external strategic competition.

The climate crisis continues to cause frequent shortages of food and water, and government corruption has given rise to coups, insurgencies, and terrorism.