JACQUEVILLE, Ivory Coast – The USA’ yearly counter-terrorism coaching program for African forces started on Sunday in Ivory Coast at a time of upheaval through which Islamist fighters management massive areas, coups are on the rise and French forces are winding down.
The coaching program, referred to as Flintlock, will carry collectively greater than 400 troopers from throughout West Africa to bolster the abilities of forces, a few of that are beneath common assault by armed teams linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
These not current included forces from Guinea and two international locations worst-hit by Islamist violence, Mali and Burkina Faso. Navy juntas have snatched energy in these three international locations since 2020, elevating considerations a couple of return to West Africa’s post-colonial status as a “coup belt”.
Central to this 12 months’s coaching is coordination between completely different forces preventing the identical enemy.
“A principal focus of Flintlock is info sharing. If we are able to’t talk, we are able to’t work collectively,” mentioned Admiral Jamie Sands, Commander of the U.S. Particular Operations Command Africa, on the opening ceremony.
Islamist militants roam throughout massive areas of the Sahel, the arid band of terrain south of the Sahara Desert. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have been overrun by assaults since 2015 which have killed 1000's and uprooted greater than 2 million individuals. Safety consultants say insurgents have infiltrated coastal international locations together with Benin and Ivory Coast.
The teams ghost throughout poorly-policed borders, confounding a mosaic of native and worldwide forces who've spent billions of dollars making an attempt eradicate the risk.
France has led the combat towards the militants since 2013, however standard opposition to its intervention has grown. Final week it mentioned it might go away Mali, shifting as an alternative to Niger.
Diplomats worry the exit of two,400 French troops from Mali – the epicentre of the violence – may destabilise the area additional.
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