SerpApi.Org
The Trump administration is reportedly considering military action in the African nation of Mali to target an al-Qaeda-affiliated group.
Current and former US officials told the Washington Post that the US government is weighing strikes against Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the largest al-Qaeda-linked organisation in West Africa.
Strikes on the African country would mark the eighth nation that Donald Trump has targeted since returning to the White House, despite campaigning on a pledge to reduce American intervention overseas.
Senior US officials are said to be split on whether to proceed with attacking the jihadist group, as Mr Trump’s popularity continues to suffer amid the Iran war.
Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, is reportedly among administration figures pushing for military strikes against JNIM in the country.
One former official told The Washington Post that the Trump administration’s key aim in recent months has been to get “overflight” rights in Mali, which would allow US officials to fly planes and other surveillance technology over Malian territory.
Mali, a landlocked nation of nearly 25 million, has become the epicentre of a jihadist insurgency in recent years that has plagued the country with violence and exacerbated poverty.
The West African nation is now led by a military junta following coups in both 2020 and 2021, but weak governance in some regions has allowed jihadist groups to thrive.
JNIM in particular has expanded across the country and into the wider Sahel region, launching frequent attacks inside Mali as it seeks to overthrow the government and replace it with an Islamist state.
The al-Qaeda affiliate killed the country’s defence minister, Sadio Camara, in a suicide attack in April. It also implemented a fuel blockade on the capital city of Bamako and much of southern Mali last year that effectively paralysed the country.
Mali’s military government, led by General Assimi Goïta, has turned to Russia for security assistance in fighting jihadist groups in recent years following a breakdown in relations with France.
This has included help from the Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries, which deployed fighters to the country in 2021 in a failed attempt to bring the situation under control.
A White House official told The Independent: “We hope that other African nations take note of Russia’s terrible performance in combating terrorism.”
Another official said they hoped the Alliance of Sahel States, a political and military coalition linking the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, “prevails against terrorism”.
They added: “But the blame for the deteriorating security situation falls upon Russia who has proven to be an ineffective security partner for Mali.”
The Trump administration is reportedly urging Alliance of Sahel governments and others in the region to purchase US equipment and services “to support their war efforts against the terrorists”.
The Telegraph approached both the Pentagon and the White House for comment.
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