The Sahel zone, which comprises the desertifying region surrounding Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania has been plagued by conflict for decades since fighting for their freedom from France... as the countries sitting on its borders are wracked by Islamic terrorism. AND GRINDING DISEASE AND POVERTY. . In the south, a civil war left Mali ravaged by bloodshed between ethnic groups, and in the north a communist insurgency led by al Qaeda is still not quieted. In the middle, surrounding the country on its side was a no man's land dominated by conflict. Out of this "no man's land" has developed the world's largest desert, where natural resources abound, at least in our story.