Desert Locust infestations are declining in the Sahel due to control operations and the migration of swarms northwards. Consequently, few locusts remain in the Sahelian zones in Mali and northern Burkina Faso but an increasing number of hopper bands and swarms are forming in the Adrar des Iforas in northern Mali. A similar situation is present in Niger. A few bands and swarms persist in northern Senegal and the Cape Verde islands. Swarms continue to form and arrive in western Mauritania where they are moving further north through the Western Sahara and an increasing number have reached the southern side of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and Algeria where control operations are underway. Other swarms have moved from Mali and Niger into southern Algeria. If rains do not occur in the coming weeks, most of the swarms are likely to concentrate along the southern side of the Atlas in Morocco and Algeria.
Additional international assistance is required to supplement major efforts already under way and to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.