- Outgoing Commander of the United States Africa Command says if the US does not step up in its alliance with Africa, the continent will look for help elsewhere.
- He also says Al-Qaeda is the most lethal terrorist group in West Africa, followed by the Islamic State.
- The war with Ukraine has not negatively affected Russia's military presence in Africa, he says.
It's straightforward. If the United States doesn't step up to help Africa counter terrorism, help will come from elsewhere.
These were the reflections of outgoing commander of the United States Africa Command, General Stephen Townsend.
Townsend, who has been based in Stuttgart, Germany for the past three years, is expected to retire this year after 40 years in the US army.
Below are some of his responses to journalists' questions at a global press conference that was held virtually.
They have been edited for clarity.
Q: What are your views on Chinese and Russian influence in Africa?
Townsend: Africa is located at a global crossroads and its security environment is complex, ripe with both opportunities and challenges alike.
China and Russia aggressively use diplomatic, economic and military means to expand their access and influence, convert soft and hard power, for investments and to seek new partnerships.
This strategic competition is also linked to counter-terrorism efforts on the continent. Counter-terrorism is a top concern for many of our partners in Africa, and they frequently ask the United States for help.
Either the US will assist them or they will find assistance elsewhere.
Q: Has any progress been made in the fight against terrorism in The Sahel with US support?
Townsend: First, the groups. Al-Qaeda is present, mainly in the form of a group known as Ama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), and they are probably the largest and most lethal group in West Africa.
Also, they have their terrorist competitors: the Islamic State's (ISIS) two groups: ISIS-Sahara and ISIS-West Africa. ISIS-West Africa is predominantly in the Lake Chad region.
There is another group there, Boko Haram, that was very much in the headlines a few years ago. They've been in competition with ISIS-West Africa.
It appears that ISIS-West Africa is now the dominant force in that region. Boko Haram still exists, but I think they're hanging on.
Many of their members have either surrendered back to host-nation governments or have changed sides to join ISIS-West Africa.
So those are the threats and we see these threats expanding. We see ISIS-West Africa very much expanding in Nigeria.
You're all aware of a major prison break just a couple of weeks ago that occurred, literally, on the outskirts of the capital in Nigeria.
And then in Mali and Burkina Faso, Al-Qaeda's arm, JNIM, has been on the march towards the south and they are now nearly invading Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, and they're starting operations now in the northern regions; border regions of the coastal states.
So this is of great concern, I think, for the world that's watching.
Our activity in this region is mostly the provision of support to partners – first to African partners, which the United States provides bilaterally, specifically to the members of what we're calling the G4 Sahel Joint Force, which was known as the G5 Sahel Force until Mali withdrew.
Our funding to these countries provides equipment, training, and advisory support to allow them to become more effective in their fight against violent extremist groups.
The US is also recalibrating our approach and we're striving to find a way to become more effective in the future.
Q: Has the invasion of Ukraine impacted Russia's presence on the continent?
Townsend: It doesn't seem to have affected their military presence on the continent greatly, mostly because there's not a huge Russian military presence on the continent to begin with.
What we have seen is the impact of the mercenary group Wagner's presence on the continent. Specifically, they've had a number of operatives in Libya, probably on the order of 2 000 or so in the past, and we know they have about 1 000 recently deployed to Mali.
I don't know the numbers of Wagner operatives in the Central African Republic, but it's substantial.
They have a footprint in a number of other countries, but those are probably some of the big ones.
We have seen them draw down in Libya to move Wagner operatives to fight in Ukraine.
And so that's what we've seen, and it hasn't had a significant impact that we can tell on the continent so far.
They do not appear to be drawing down in Mali. They appear to be leaning into Mali as much as they have been throughout.
In fact, they have deployed sophisticated new capabilities, like air defence capabilities, to Mali that we have seen appear there recently.
Q: Who and what is the Wagner Group?
Townsend: Although the Kremlin likes to deny it publicly, they are an arm of the Kremlin and they are doing President Putin's (Russian President Vladimir Putin) bidding.
I think that the reason the Russians like that (distancing) is because they seem to think it gives them some air of deniability, but I question the judgement of anybody who denies that and doesn't recognise that Wagner is a Russian mercenary group working at the behest of the Kremlin.
I don't think they're out for the good of any of the African nations or people.
The only thing I see Wagner doing is propping up dictators and exploiting natural resources on the continent.
Q: What about the US military's return to Somalia?
Townsend: As many of you know, our President (Joe Biden) recently authorised the US Department of Defence to return a small, persistent US military presence to Somalia.
We are in the initial stages of that effort. Our mission in Somalia has not changed. Our forces will continue equipping, training, advising and assisting our Somali partners to degrade al-Shabaab, an arm of Al-Qaeda.
This repositioning means little without the support of strong partners across the Horn of Africa.
Djibouti and Kenya are examples of military forces that are strong partners in this vital and volatile region.
We will continue to support these partners and others in the region and enable the Somali security forces and the African Union mission there, Atmis, to fight and degrade al-Shabaab.
In West Africa, our approach aims to limit terrorist expansion and prevent their further inroads into The Sahel and the coastal states.
We work with our partners to provide assistance and address terrorist advances, and increase the effectiveness of our partnerships.
US maritime engagement is also crucial in this region, where piracy and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing presents a devastating economic and food scarcity challenge for our African partners.
In North Africa, we're interested in protecting NATO's southern flank and helping our partners there to monitor and disrupt violent extremist organisations that may try to resurge in Libya and Tunisia.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.