Ulf Laessing started in June his preparation course to take up his assignment to run the regional Sahel program in Mali. He worked previously for 13 years as correspondent and bureau chief for Reuters news agency in the Middle East and Africa focussing on the Arab Spring, conflicts and military missions, political transformations, terrorism and Jihadists as well as migration, business and climate change. Laessing has written a book on Libya’s conflict and studied history, Islamic Studies and economics in Hamburg, Leipzig and Kuwait.