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A string of recent military coups toppling governments in the African Sahel, from Guinea to Sudan, poses new risks and challenges to the United States. France, formerly a key ally in African security affairs, has also massively reduced its forces on the continent, at times being chased out by pro-Moscow forces.
Straight Arrow News contributor Katherine Zimmerman warns the United States of the urgent need for new policies for those nations that have experienced a recent coup. She argues that continuing on with our current policy, without exceptions, would enable adversaries like Russia and al-Qaeda to advance their own agenda at the expense of American security.
In the past three years, eight coups have occurred in six countries in the Sahel, creating a belt of instability that stretches from Guinea, on Africa’s Atlantic coastline, to Sudan in the east. Half of these countries — Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — have also faced a rapidly growing threat from al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked groups.
Legal restrictions fall into place once the United States determines a military-led seizure of power has occurred, as it has already in Burkina Faso and Mali, limiting the types of aid America can provide.
These had little impact on counterterrorism while the French military still had permission to lead regional counterterrorism operations, but has become a major challenge to the United States in the Sahel now that the French are gone.
