<!-- wp:html --><p> Africa’s Sahel region has become a hot spot for violent extremism, but the joint force set up in 2014 to combat groups linked to the Islamic State, al-Qaida and others has failed to stop their inroads, and a senior UN official warned Tuesday that without greater international support and regional cooperation the instability will expand toward West African coastal countries.</p><!-- /wp:html -->
Africa’s Sahel region has become a hot spot for violent extremism, but the joint force set up in 2014 to combat groups linked to the Islamic State, al-Qaida and others has failed to stop their inroads, and a senior UN official warned Tuesday that without greater international support and regional cooperation the instability will expand toward West African coastal countries.