Post by Marilia Katras

"Since the mid-2010s, as jihadist insurgencies have spread across northern Nigeria and the Sahel, defensive earthworks have risen up around towns and cities. Many are so extensive they are clearly visible in satellite images. According to new research by Olivier Walther and Steven Radil, geographers at the University of Florida, all urban centres in north-east Nigeria with populations of more than 10,000 are now secured by trenches. Most big towns there and in the Lake Chad basin are surrounded by sand berms up to three metres high. Unlike those of the former Benin empire, the new walls and moats are a sign of state weakness. In Nigeria, the army began digging trenches with the help of the American government shortly after the notorious “Chibok Girls” kidnapping by jihadists in 2014. The goal, says an American contractor involved in the initiative, was to protect civilians and “hold the line” against jihadist advances. Militants in the Sahel typically carry out attacks using light vehicles such as motorcycles or pickup trucks. Trenches and berms are a simple, low-tech way to slow them down." https://lnkd.in/djgSmuS6