The European Union just signed a deal with the West African nation Mauritania: In exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, Mauritania has pledged to stop the tens of thousands of migrants heading by boat to Spain from its shores.
The killing of four American special operations soldiers in Niger has highlighted the increasing role elite units are playing across Africa, where their mission is to counter the advances of a slew of jihadist movements, including al-Shabab in Somalia, ISIS affiliates in the Sahel region and Boko Haram in Nigeria.