The Trump administration blames Russia for the deteriorating security situation in Mali, as the president is reportedly considering military strikes against an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group known as Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimin.
The Alliance of Sahel States consists of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, all West African countries where military leaders have seized power in recent years from democratically elected leaders, cut ties with Western countries, and turned to Russia for security help for their terrorism problems.
The military junta rose to power in Mali in 2020 and cut security ties with France, which colonized the country, before partnering with Russia’s Wagner Group and Africa Corps to combat the spread of JNIM and the Islamic State-Sahel.
“The United States hopes the Alliance of Sahel States prevails against terrorism, but the blame for the deteriorating security situation falls upon Russia who has proven to be an ineffective security partner for Mali,” an administration official told the Washington Examiner. “We hope that other African nations take note of Russia’s terrible performance in combating terrorism”
The official added, “We urge the Alliance of Sahel States and Coastal West African governments to purchase U.S. equipment and services to support their war efforts against the terrorists. Terrorism in the Sahel is a multi-national problem. We urge regional partners and NATO allies to support the Alliance of Sahel States in their war against JNIM and ISIS.”
President Donald Trump is reportedly considering authorizing U.S. strikes against JNIM, according to the Washington Post. If Trump does approve such strikes, Mali would be the eighth country the U.S. has bombed since he retook the White House. The list already includes Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, and Venezuela.
“I can assure you that Mali is not sitting and waiting for others to come and solve our problems,” Mali’s foreign minister, Abdoulaye Diop, said on Thursday. “Mali counts on itself — on its ingenuity, its resources, its defense and security forces, and its own capabilities — to solve its problems.”
Diop also said there are “three principles, which are absolutely very clear, when it comes to working with Mali: we must respect Mali’s sovereignty, we must respect Mali’s sovereign decisions, and we must take into account the interests of the people.”
Liam Karr, the Africa team lead for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Washington Examiner that he can “confidently” say the security problems in Mali are “not an airstrike problem.”
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“We’re talking about a decentralized, sprawling group with a ton of local support, thousands of fighters operating across a country the size of Texas, really. You’re not going to be able to drone strike them away,” Karr said, “JNIM is that they are the most powerful group that are active across the entirety of the country, pose the most direct threat to the Malian capital Bamako, but are currently I would say more concentrated on trying to actually take control of northern Mali alongside the FLA,” referencing the Azawad Liberation Front.
U.S. Africa Command Commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson said in his written testimony before the House Armed Services Committee in May that “terrorism remains the most acute threat in Africa.” He warned that JNIM “has the ambition to threaten the homeland and conduct attacks on U.S. personnel and facilities,” while “ISIS also seeks to establish a caliphate in Africa, with ISIS-West Africa and ISIS-Sahel becoming increasingly more collaborative.”