<P> Although much reduced, trans - Saharan trade continued . But trade routes to the West African coast became increasingly easy, particularly after the French invasion of the Sahel in the 1890s and subsequent construction of railways to the interior . A railway line from Dakar to Algiers via the Niger bend was planned but never constructed . With the independence of nations in the region in the 1960s, the north--south routes were severed by national boundaries . National governments were hostile to Tuareg nationalism and so made few efforts to maintain or support trans - Saharan trade, and the Tuareg Rebellion of the 1990s and Algerian Civil War further disrupted routes, with many roads closed . </P> <P> Traditional caravan routes are largely void of camels, but the shorter Azalai routes from Agadez to Bilma and Timbuktu to Taoudenni are still regularly--if lightly--used . Some members of the Tuareg still use the traditional trade routes, often traveling 2,400 km (1,500 mi) and six months out of every year by camel across the Sahara trading in salt carried from the desert interior to communities on the desert edges . </P> <P> The African Union and African Development Bank support the Trans - Sahara Highway from Algiers to Lagos via Tamanrasset which aims to stimulate trans - Saharan trade . The route is paved except for a 200 km section in northern Niger, but border restrictions still hamper traffic . Only a few trucks carry trans - Saharan trade, particularly fuel and salt . Three other highways across the Sahara are proposed: for further details see Trans - African Highways . Building the highways is difficult because of sandstorms </P>

What did they trade in the trans saharan trade