Kourou/Koualou, a small village situated in a neutral zone between Benin and Burkina Faso, has become a focal point in the illicit fuel trade, which spans the vast African Sahel region, stretching over 6,000 kilometers.
In this installment of our series on combating trafficking in the Sahel, UN News sheds light on the illegal fuel trade plaguing the region.
Operated by criminal networks and taxed by terrorist groups, this illegal trade routes millions of liters of fuel across four major pathways, draining resources from nations striving to stabilize their security-challenged region, home to 300 million people.
“Fuel trafficking undermines the rule of law and fuels corruption,” stated François Patuel, Chief of the Research and Awareness Unit at the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC). “It also enables other forms of crime. That’s why it demands immediate attention.”
Fuel trafficking has become a lucrative business in the Sahel region. According to a report by UNODC titled “Fuel Trafficking in the Sahel,” it funds illegal armed groups, terrorist organizations, corrupt law enforcement officials, financial institutions, and individuals associated with retail fuel companies. The demand for illicit fuel is also high among the population.
The primary enablers of this trade are the low gas prices in Algeria, Libya, and Nigeria, which are heavily subsidized. UNODC reports that while gas stations in Libya charge 11 cents per liter, the average pump prices in neighboring Mali reach $1.94.
“By simply crossing the border, traffickers make a profit of 90 cents per liter,” explained Mr. Patuel. “It’s easy revenue for criminal groups.”
The traffickers then sell the fuel to the local population, who rely on cheaper fuel for various activities such as powering generators for electricity or transporting goods to market.
“They exploit these needs to sell their criminal products, including contraband fuel,” added Mr. Patuel.
The UNODC report highlights the operations across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. Along these well-traveled routes, traffickers transport millions of liters of contraband fuel each year. The established routes run from Algeria to Mali, from Libya to Niger and Chad, and from Nigeria through Benin to Burkina Faso and Mali via Niger.
The loss of revenue for Sahelian nations is staggering. According to the High Authority for Combating Corruption and Related Offenses in Niger, the illicit trade costs the country nearly $8 million annually in tax revenue. Traffickers evade taxes by purchasing fuel intended for export at reduced costs and diverting deliveries domestically or across borders.
Smugglers also pay “taxes” to newly formed terrorist groups, as observed in Kourou/Koualou, where illegal warehouses store tanks of contraband fuel during transit. UNODC reports that Al-Qaida-affiliated groups operate gold-rich mines in the area and regularly impose fees on contraband activities.
In the context of natural resource trafficking in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, “local communities are particularly vulnerable, as they live in isolated areas with limited law enforcement presence,” according to a report by the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED).
Contraband fuel often scratches the surface of a deeper web of trafficking, encompassing various criminal activities such as drug trade and human smuggling. Mr. Patuel cites the example of a Nigerian fuel trafficker who was involved in drug trafficking and owned petrol stations. The trafficker allegedly used proceeds from the drug trade to finance the purchase of contraband fuel for sale at his stations.
UNODC has also highlighted alarming new trends, with companies associated with individuals sanctioned by the Security Council found to be involved in fuel smuggling from Niger to Mali. Traffickers are diversifying their range of illicit products.
Such profiteering has raised concerns throughout the UN system. The UN Security Council continually expresses concern about terrorist groups using proceeds from natural resource trafficking to fund their nefarious activities, urging states to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Ending fuel smuggling is a complex endeavor with potentially dire consequences in a region where informal employment rates are soaring, ranging from 78.2 percent in Niger to 96.9 percent in Chad. Curbing illicit fuel flows, as UNODC warns, could result in higher transportation and energy prices, impacting the cost of commercial goods and services.
The UNODC recommends that Sahelian nations and neighboring countries identify and prosecute fuel smuggling cases directly linked to organized crime, armed groups, and corruption. International treaties such as the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption provide tools for combating this issue.
While some anti-smuggling efforts have encountered violent resistance, including the loss of law enforcement officers’ lives, the nations involved continue to employ fresh and collaborative approaches to stem illicit flows, as reported by UNODC.
The agency’s latest threat assessment on the phenomenon presents numerous examples, including police-escorted gas convoys in Algeria near the Malian border, curfews and cross-border armed group raids in Benin.
Burkina Faso has been diligently dismantling a highly organized fuel trafficking network since 2019. The network smuggled over 3 million liters of contraband fuel over a three-year period, with fleets of trucks transporting up to 30,000 liters per trip.
In Kourou/Koualou, the flow of illegal fuel has been significantly reduced through government crackdowns. However, terrorist groups continue to tax the remaining fuel being trafficked, as well as other smuggled goods, according to UNODC.
“Criminal groups prey on and exploit the needs of the population,” emphasized Mr. Patuel. “By joining forces and adopting a regional approach, we can successfully address organized crime in the region.”
The UN and its partners are working together to combat trafficking and create opportunities in the region. Here are some examples:
- The UN launched a $180 million project in 2022 aimed at improving economic opportunities and livelihoods for 1.6 million people in the Liptako-Gourma area, spanning Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The project, part of the Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS), focuses on women, youth, and pastoralists.
- As part of UNISS peace and security initiatives, a project is working to prevent the spread of violent extremism in transborder areas between Senegal, Guinea, and Mali.
- Stakeholders gathered at a meeting in Dakar from 28 February to 2 March, co-organized by the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Senegal’s Centre for Advanced Defense and Security Studies, and Switzerland’s foreign affairs department, to exchange initiatives and ideas on preventing violent extremism in West and Central Africa.
- In April, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the G5 Sahel Force signed an agreement to strengthen regional and intra-state cooperation in human mobility, contributing to resilience-building, development, and integrated border governance in the G5 countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger).
- UNICEF issued its first situation report on emerging challenges in Côte d’Ivoire, which continues to be impacted by conflict spillover from the central Sahel crisis.
- UNHCR has initiated cash-for-work programs in Awaradi, Niger, employing youth from host communities to produce bricks.
These collective efforts aim to combat trafficking while promoting development and resilience in the region, addressing the challenges faced by communities in the Sahel.
(Source: United Nations)
