Niger: On The Edge

NIGER

On the Edge

In 2017, jihadist militants ambushed a unit of American special forces in Niger. The Pentagon recently issued a report blaming junior officers for the incident that resulted in the deaths of four soldiers, the New York Times wrote.

Since then, however, the security situation has deteriorated not only in the impoverished, largely Muslim West African country, but also in neighboring Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Nigeria. Militants linked to al-Qaeda, Islamic State and other groups have been launching attacks throughout the region, echoing their international approach to destabilizing the Middle East, Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou noted recently.

Now, Niger could become the lynchpin in the fight against Islamic extremism in the Sahel region of western Africa, which Islamic State views as a potential replacement for its fallen “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, the Economist reported.

“Niger’s ability to hold firm against jihadists will not only determine its own future stability; it will shape the future of militancy in the broader region and either deny or provide foreign forces the opportunity to use Niger as a stable base in their counterterrorism fight,” wrote Strator, a think tank, in a recent report.

Issoufou wants action.

“I propose an international coalition, like you see in Syria or Iraq, to fight terrorism in the Sahel and the Lake Chad basin,” Issoufou toldBloomberg. “When I say an international force, this also includes the US.”

The problem is, foreign troops are already fighting in the region. The US has deployed forces. France is fighting in Mali. Ivory Coast and Ghana have also bolstered their security, expecting tougher times ahead. It’s hard to see what else outsiders might do.

Analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, another think tank, believe more troops might be necessary. But if the US and others opt to enlarge their militaries’ footprints in Niger and the Sahel, they’ll need to do a better job of curbing civilian casualties and boosting political processes that might weaken the militants in the first place, the center’s analysts wrote in a recent brief.

Those suggestions reflect the dire conditions in Niger and surrounding areas: Almost 10 million people in the region are “food insecure,” according to the United Nations. Around 2 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition.

The forthcoming African Continental Free Trade Area might help the Sahel’s economy, Al Jazeera noted. China is already planning to build a pipeline to help landlocked Niger export oil, Reuters added.

Those projects are a start. They won’t take off, however, if fanatics are in control.