Will Robson explores the area’s war-torn history and investigates how climate change is acting as the catalyst to migration, violent disputes over water and the growth of brutal armed extremists. He hears from those caught in the middle of conflicts in Mali and the Lake Chad region and discovers how drought and rapid desertification are fanning the flames of violence.

Produced by Simon Jarvis and Tom Roseingrave. A Whistledown Production for the BBC World Service.