"US air strikes, rival military blocs and competing foreign backers are reshaping security in West Africa and pushing states closer to conflict. After launching what he called a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS [ISIL] terrorist scum in northwest Nigeria on December 25, United States President Donald Trump promised many more, reaffirming his stance that the US will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper."
"The strikes occurred less than a week after the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES) commissioned a joint military force comprising a 5,000-strong contingent, presented as a symbol of collective self-reliance and security autonomy. They also followed moves by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to establish an ambitious plan announced in August 2025 to activate a 260,000-strong joint counterterrorism force, backed by a proposed $2.5bn annual budget for logistics and front-line support."
US air strikes, rival military blocs and competing foreign backers are reshaping security in West Africa and pushing states toward conflict. A December 25 US strike in northwest Nigeria was followed by promises of more attacks. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) has commissioned a 5,000-strong joint contingent presented as collective self-reliance. ECOWAS proposed a 260,000-strong joint counterterrorism force with a $2.5bn annual logistics budget. Militarised escalation shows little evidence of defeating armed groups in the Sahel. Instead, militarisation fuels geopolitical tensions and increases the risk of interstate armed conflict. Until 2021, a loosely coordinated security architecture centered on ECOWAS, the EU, UN, AU, the US, France, Algeria and Nigeria governed operations.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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