... Niger, Algeria and Mali should really be avoided completely, even with a strong sense of adventure...
I think it would be more accurate to say parts of these countries should be avoided - and they have been well known for years. Guessing your route from Mori to Burkina you will avoid far east Mali as everyone does, in Niger at the moment you can't go to the Aïr/Ténéré (the best part - you must stick on the TSH) and in Algeria it's the easily avoided northeast that is consistently risky.
Short of cancelling you could still have a great desert trip in just Morocco & Mori (no escorts), or Libya/Algeria via Tunisia (expensive escorts). You can't see the best of Niger these days and IMO the Mali desert (as opposed to the country itself) is comparatively dull apart from ticking off Timbuktu.
It could all change by next year, but the way things have gone lately, that could only be a good thing!
Ch
NB: March is not a great time to head into the Sahara for 3 months but I guess you've thought of that.
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