Sahel

American  

[suh-heyl, -heel] / səˈheɪl, -ˈhil /

noun

1. the arid area on the S flank of the Sahara desert that stretches across six countries from Senegal to Chad.

---

Other Word Forms

• Sahelian adjective

Example Sentences

These days, al-Qaida is broken up into several affiliates in sometimes overlapping geographical areas: the Sahel, North and West Africa; Syria; Somalia; Yemen; and finally, a very small group in South Asia.

From Slate • Apr. 21, 2026

Sahel states have been fighting Islamic State and Al-Qaeda extremists for more than a decade with limited success.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Weapons from the former Yugoslavia helped drive the Libyan civil wars after 2011, later fueling rebellions in Mali and across the Sahel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Approximately 70% of cases tracked across the continent occurred in the Sahel countries of Mali and Niger.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026

The remaining surprise is that all of Africa’s indigenous crops—those of the Sahel, Ethiopia, and West Africa—originated north of the equator.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond