(3 minutes read)
- The United States military has launched its annual military training exercise aimed at helping armies in the coastal Sahel region to contain the jihadi threats. Soldiers from several African countries are being trained by the US in counter-insurgency tactics.
The United States military has launched its annual military training exercise aimed at helping armies in the coastal Sahel region to contain the jihadi threats. Soldiers from several African countries are being trained by the US in counter-insurgency tactics.
According to reports, over 1,300 military personnel from 29 countries are being trained in Ghana and Ivory Coast, amid surging jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Violence has led to the death of thousands of people and displaced millions. Most of the extremist activities are concentrated in West Africa’s inland Sahel region in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. However, it is rapidly spreading to coastal states like Ghana, which is experiencing an upsurge in attacks by unidentified groups.
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This year’s U.S. Flintlock, a two-week event, is taking place amid growing anti-French sentiment in West Africa. Mali and Burkina Faso have ended their military cooperation with France. The French military presence was there in the Sahel region for over several years. This has done little to stem the growth of Jihadi violence. The military juntas ruling Mali and Burkina Faso are now getting military support from Russia. The US intervention, sources close to the US administration says, is to stem the extremist threat before it spreads further across the region. Widespread poverty, high inflation and the shortage of jobs for young men provide favourable conditions for jihadi recruitment.
