Shadow War in the Sahara
Co-produced with ARTE France and broadcast on Aljazeera
A deconstruction of “terrorism” in Africa and the rise of the US Military’s AFRICOM Command. The film examines the 2012 French military intervention in Mali to stop advancing jihadist forces, which confirmed the status of the Sahel as an important new front in the global war on terror.
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France quickly declared victory as the enemy evaporated into the desert. Yet today the region remains a hotbed of instability as rebel attacks and kidnappings continue. And while French troops consolidate their presence, new players primarily China and the United States, are increasingly active across the continent.
SHADOW WAR IN THE SAHARA questions the official narrative of this “terror war”, and asks whether the desert masks a larger struggle, that for control of the region’s valuable natural resources - the vast deposits of petroleum, strategic minerals, and even the water that lie under its sands.
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The film details how global empires are jockeying for position in new resource wars of the 21st Century. It shows how 130 years after European powers first carved up the continent, a “new scramble” for Africa is underway.
Nominated for the 2015 Prix Europa for Outstanding Current Affairs Program