The Sahel region of Africa is approximately 3,300 miles of semi-arid land that has become an epicenter in the birth of Islamic insurgency and jihadism. As the Sahel region is the transitional geographic location between the Islamic Sahara and the Catholic/Christian Sub-Sahara, it is only fitting that the Sahel would be a battleground of ethno-religious tensions and a new frontier of counter-insurgency operations. But in this matter, it must be up to the Sahel region countries to spearhead the initiatives rather than the over-presence and over-reliance on the operations of foreign countries.