The United States military has launched its annual military training exercise aimed at helping armies contain the jihadi threat following an increase in extremist violence in West Africa´s Sahel region spreads south toward coastal states.
The United State deputy commander for Special Operations Command Africa, Col. Rob Zyla, “If the instability gets too broad or too bad then it opens the aperture for other malign actors to try and influence and try and corrupt the messaging to gain access to some of these governments.”
The training comes amidst growing anti-French sentiment in West Africa. Mali and Burkina Faso have ended their military cooperation with France, complaining that the French military presence over several years has done little to stem the growth of Jihadi violence.
While the US isn’t expanding the number of its soldiers in West Africa, United States special operations forces will continue to conduct joint training with partners based on their needs and requests, he said.
The bulk of terrorist activities in the Sahel are domiciled in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the violence is rapidly spreading to coastal states like Ghana, which is experiencing an upsurge in attacks by unidentified groups, which could have links to jihadis.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, West Africa’s inland Sahel region Northern Ghana had just one violent incident connected to an unidentified armed group in 2021 but that figure rose dramatically to 19 in 2022.
A total of 1,300 military personnel from 29 countries are training in Ghana and Ivory Coast amid jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that has killed thousands, displaced millions, and plunged countries into crisis.