Officials say the United States is preparing long-term assistance for Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Togo as concerns grow that terrorist violence in the Sahel could spill over into Africa’s west coast.
US Vice President Kamala Harris visited Ghana last month as part of a US campaign for progress in Africa.
Harris has announced $100 million over ten years to strengthen resilience in coastal West Africa.
State Department officials are also considering additional funding, including from the counterterrorism budget.
In a new comprehensive strategy to prevent war and promote stability, President Joe Biden’s administration has identified the West African Sahel as a priority for the next decade.
The report, which was issued last March, said that the Sahel region, all the way to the adjacent north, had been subjected to more terrorist attacks than any other region and it was necessary to “prevent violent conflicts from breaking out or spreading to all parts of the region.”
Coastal cities connected to the world through ports were not affected, but violence escalated in areas bordering Mali and Burkina Faso.
“It’s a significant and growing threat,” said Michael Heath, deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for West Africa. “…It’s something we’re concerned about because the capabilities of existing governments have never faced such a threat before.”
“They’re trying to deal with this and we’re trying to figure out what kind of tools they need,” said Heath, who recently returned from a trip to the region with other State Department officials to assess needs.
– “holistic approach”
Concern in the Sahel about violence has grown in the past months since France ended an eight-year campaign against terrorists.
US officials said the West African coast would not witness violence if it did not extend from the north, pointing out at the same time that instability could also result from local factors and competition for resources that climate change is exacerbating their scarcity.
They added that the assistance would focus in part on addressing economic gaps that would help recruit extremists.
“It’s clear that we want to help those governments that are more interested in taking a comprehensive approach and good governance in addressing the problems of the North, where resources are scarce,” said Gregory LeGervo, a senior US State Department counterterrorism official who participated in the trip.
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