France and the United States Are Making West Africa’s Security Situation WorseThe Sahel, a semiarid region south of the Sahara Desert that stretches from Senegal to Eritrea, is experiencing a major security crisis. The U.S. Department of State routinely emphasizes the role of transnational terrorist groups, such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State, in triggering the Sahel’s security crisis. The wavering commitment of the United States to stabilizing the Sahel has exacerbated France’s overextension and reduced the international community’s ability to combat extremism in West Africa. ECOWAS’s response to the Sahel’s security crisis has been similarly marred by strategic incoherence. The United States and France should emphasize great-power cooperation and Washington should cease its efforts to undermine the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 12, 2020 12:56 UTC