A statement from the State Department spokesman in the United States, says a special envoy for Africa’s Sahel region has been created in a bid to curb rising violence from groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
Envoy Peter Pham, started his new role earlier this week, the spokesman said. He has been serving as U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa since November 2018.
“Sahel is one of the places where the situation is getting worse in the continent,” the spokesman said.
Security has progressively worsened in the Sahel, an arid region of West Africa, just below the Sahara desert, with militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State strengthening their foothold across the region, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence.
Former colonial power France intervened in 2013 to drive back militants who had seized northern Mali the previous year.
Fighters have since regrouped and spread. Over the past year, militants have stepped up attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Particularly worrying for Europeans has been possible U.S. troop cuts. The Pentagon is considering withdrawing the personnel as part of a global troop review meant to free up more resources to address challenges from China’s military, after nearly two decades of prioritizing counter-terrorism operations around the world.
Such a potential move has alarmed France, which relies on U.S. intelligence and logistics for its 4,500-strong mission in the Sahel.
The deaths of 13 French soldiers in a helicopter crash during a combat mission in Mali in November increased France’s determination to secure more support in the zone.
The U.S. currently has around 6,000 military personnel in Africa. Although some experts say a re-positioning of forces is overdue, many U.S. officials share French concerns about relieving pressure on militants in Africa.
State Department’s latest counter terrorism report, which was published in November 2019, said attacks by militant groups in the region have been on the rise.
