China Boosts Military Presence in Africa’s Sahel Region

Beijing plans to send more troops and weapons to favored regions in Africa as it seeks to protect assets and prepare for combat.

People's Liberation Army soldiers and members of a U.N. peacekeeping unit destined for Darfur in the Sudan practice defense maneuvers at their base in China's central Henan Province on Sept. 15, 2007. PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG—It stretches almost 4,000 miles across the Sahara Desert and spans 10 countries, from the Atlantic Ocean that touches Senegal in West Africa to Port Sudan on the eastern Red Sea.

Its 400 million people are some of the poorest in the world, often assailed by drought, floods, famine, and political instability, with toppled governments and violent extremists making it the most terrorist-infested region on Earth.