Trump administration considers military action in Mali
U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual meeting at National Harbor near Washington, U.S., March 2, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
According to The Washington Post on the 22nd of July, the Trump administration is debating military action in Mali, particularly to target the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group JNIM. Some U.S officials familiar with the current talks discussed the topic with the American newspaper, claiming that the terrorist issue in the Sahara is a “multinational problem”.
A white house official told The Washington Post that the decision to intervene in Mali was still up in the air; however, the United States have allegedly been pushing for governments of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and West Africa to purchase “U.S. equipment and services to support their war efforts against the terrorists.”
If military intervention is approved, Mali would constitute the eighth nation that the Trump administration would have intervened in since Trump’s second term.
The white house official further added that “We urge regional partners and NATO allies to support the Alliance of Sahel States in their war against JNIM and ISIS”. Further adding that “We hope that other African nations take note of Russia’s terrible performance in combating terrorism”.
This comes after the recent visits of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with his counterparts from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, as Russia has been taking increasing space in Sahel conflicts. Mali has spent approximately $1bn on Russian mercenaries such as Wagner and the new Africa Corps. The Kremlin controls both paramilitary organisations.
As Burkina Faso cut ties with France, the three countries withdrew from the International Criminal Court, and EU delegates have been expelled, the signs are clear that the AES countries are turning their backs on the West while leaning into Russian security and economic deals.
Since the 25th of April and the alliance of the two main terrorist groups JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front, the Malian military junta has been losing men and territory at an alarming rate. The government seems to be latching on to international opportunities, such as seen in its rapprochement with Algeria, a country it notoriously had cut diplomatic relations with.
The three Alliance of the Sahel states adherents are led by military juntas, accused by various NGO’s and organisations of human rights violations as well as war crimes. According to ACLED, the Malian military and its Russian partners were responsible for 925 civilian deaths, compared with 232 by Islamist militants in the last year.
In a possible effort from the U.S to counter Russian influence in the Sahel, analysts and political figures such as Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufran Centre, declared that “Opting for the military solution one more time won’t get things resolved…The French tried that for 10 years. The Russians have been trying for five years. The situation has only gotten worse and worse.”
According to RFI, American researcher and Sahel specialist Andrew Lebovitch stated that if an intervention seemed relatively unlikely, possible airstrikes could be considered.
No official responses or declarations have been made on this topic.
The Washington Post, RFI, Maghrebi.org
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