Atmospheric water (Precipitation minus Evaporation, P-E) and moisture fluxes from the NCEP/NCAR and observed rainfall data from the Climatic Research Unit are analyzed over the West African Monsoon region (WAM: 5¿N--20¿N; 18¿W--18¿E) on the period 1968--1998. The main results show that 1) P-E averaged over the 15¿N--20¿N belt in July--September (JAS) is a better proxy of observed rainfall in Sudan-Sahel (12¿N--18¿N) than NCEP/NCAR rainfall in this reanalysis; 2) part of the moisture fluxes vertically integrated in the layers 1000--300 hPa or 1000--925 hPa advected into WAM originate from the Mediterranean sea and Central Africa; 3) their interannual March--April and JAS variations, especially north of 20¿N, present significant relationship with Sahelian P-E in JAS; 4) at more local scales moisture advections and convergences are also significantly associated with observed Sudan-Sahel rainfall and, in wet (dry) situations, with a clear dominance of westerly (easterly) anomalies in the moisture flux south of 15¿N.