The only place in the world where militants linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS are cooperating is in West Africa's sprawling Sahel region, giving the extremists greater depth as they push into new areas, according to the commander of the US military's special forces in Africa.
"I believe that if it‘s left unchecked it could very easily develop into a great threat to the West and the United States,” US Air Force Brig. Gen. Dagvin Anderson told The Associated Press in an interview this week.
The leader of US Special Operations Command Africa described the threat even as the Pentagon considers reducing the US military presence in Africa.
Experts have long worried about collaboration between al-Qaeda and ISIS. While the cooperation in the Sahel is not currently a direct threat to the US or the West, “it’s very destabilizing to the region,” Anderson said.
He spoke on the sidelines of the US military's annual counterterrorism exercise in West Africa, currently the most active region for extremists on the continent.
The alarming new collaboration in the Sahel between affiliates of al-Qaea and ISIS is a result of ethnic ties in the region that includes Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
"Whereas in other parts of the world they have different objectives and a different point of view that tends to bring ISIS and al-Qaeda into conflict, here they’re able to overcome that and work for a common purpose,” Anderson said, emphasizing that it's a local phenomenon.
The cooperation allows the extremist groups to appeal to a wider audience in a largely rural region where government presence is sparse and frustration with unemployment is high.
The past year has seen a surge in deadly violence in the Sahel, with more than 2,600 people killed and more than half a million displaced in Burkina Faso alone.
Al-Qaeda is the deeper threat both in the region and globally, Anderson said.
The French lead the military effort in the Sahel with more than 5,000 forces and they hope to bring in more European partners.
But the French have urged the US to reconsider any cuts to its already small military footprint of about 1,400 personnel in West Africa. The US has about 6,000 personnel on the continent.
Anderson countered that the US is already doing a lot in the Sahel through the State Department, a large USAID presence and investment. “Instead of looking at the size of the presence, I think we should look at what is the appropriate engagement across the government, from all levels,” he said.
With very small engagement, the US can still help countries develop the capabilities to build coalitions and share intelligence, Anderson said.
“It’s going to take all these nations working together, but also it’s going to have to be African solutions to an African problem,” he said.
