Cross-border pastoralism sustains economies and communities across Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic (CAR) and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). But armed groups and criminal networks are increasingly capturing transhumance corridors, livestock markets and trade flows. Livestock theft, kidnapping for ransom, illegal taxation and extortion now sustain predatory war economies. More than 15 000 lives were lost to agropastoral conflict across West and Central Africa between 2010 and 2020. Weak state protection, corruption and poor livestock traceability are pushing herders to arm themselves, alter routes or abandon cross-border movement altogether, deepening insecurity and the stigmatisation of pastoral communities. Securing corridors demands coordinated regional responses rather than isolated national measures.

About the author

Natali Kossoumna Liba’a is a pastoral geographer, lecturer and researcher at the University of Maroua, Cameroon. His research focuses on pastoralism, rural crime and agropastoral conflict in the Sudano-Sahelian region.