3 commandos’ deaths put focus on West Africa
JOHANNESBURG — The killing of three U.S. commandos in a remote West African desert has focused attention on one of the many places America has a military presence to push back against terrorism and train local forces.
The incident also underscores the extent to which Niger and several of its troubled neighbors, including Mali and Nigeria, remain a priority in U.S. counterterrorism efforts, although President Donald Trump offered lukewarm support for a French initiative in June to boost international forces in the region.
The three commandos were killed Wednesday in southwestern Niger, a region notorious for drug smuggling, human trafficking and extremist militias, including allies of al-Qaida and Islamic State.
The U.S. Green Berets were on a training operation with Nigerien forces when they were ambushed. At least four Nigerien soldiers were killed and two U.S. commandos were injured.
The U.S. Africa Command based in Stuttgart, Germany, said the U.S. forces are in Niger to provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien armed forces in their efforts against violent extremists.
Niger, an impoverished, arid country in West Africa, is one of the most strategic locations in U.S. counterterrorism operations in Africa.
The U.S. has been running Operation Flintlock, an annual counterterrorism operation with regional forces in the Sahel region since 2005 and operates an air base near Niamey, the Nigerien capital, flying drone missions since 2014.
The Air Force is also developing a multimilliondollar drone base south of Agadez, a historic town in central Niger, that will enable Reaper drones to fly sorties to address the threat posed by myriad extremists in the region. The U.S. has also provided aircraft and military hardware to Niger in recent years.
France and Germany also have bases in Niger, reflecting its strategic importance in the counterterrorism struggle. The U.N. has a 13,000-strong peacekeeping force in neighboring Mali.
The U.S. Africa Command offered few details on Wednesday’s attack. Extremists allied to al-Qaida or Islamic State are suspected, a spokeswoman said.
Niger is the main highway on the human trafficking route used by African migrants desperate to reach Europe via Libya. France, the most active Western force in the region, intervened in Mali in January 2013 after several Islamist militias conquered half the country, armed with weapons stolen from the military of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi when he fell.
France sent forces at the request of the Malian government and helped drive extremists, including alQaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine, and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, out of the main towns. However, they remain active across the region, kidnapping foreigners and attacking hotels and restaurants popular with Westerners.
France, which has seen a string of domestic attacks by Islamic State, is also concerned about the threat posed by militants in the Sahel and the possibility they could use the migrant route through Libya to infiltrate Europe and mount attacks in France.
In June, French President Emmanuel Macron won international support for a U.N.-backed force of 5,000 regional troops from Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania to combat terrorism, drug smuggling and human trafficking in the Sahel.
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