AFRICOM [United States Africa Command]

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malikos
Mulazim Awal (ملازم أول)
Mulazim Awal (ملازم أول)
Messages : 1488
Inscription : 01 avril 2012, 13:54

Re: AFRICOM [United States Africa Command]

Message par malikos »

Islamic State group emerges as a political force in western Africa

Nigerien soldiers conduct a simulated mounted patrol during exercise Flintlock in Agadez, Niger, April 18, 2018.

ERIC HOLMAN/U.S. ARMY

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By JOHN VANDIVER | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: May 20, 2019

STUTTGART, Germany — Islamic State militants in West Africa are gaining the upper hand, carving out a “proto-state” in northern Nigeria where government forces have been overwhelmed by attacks, U.S. military officials and security analysts say.

ISIS-West Africa, which broke away from the militant group Boko Haram three years ago, continues to launch high profile attacks that have placed the Nigerian military “under tremendous strain,” according to Stuttgart-based U.S. Africa Command.

Now, the group appears to be building on its battlefield gains in northeast Nigeria and the borderlands in the Lake Chad region, from where they have launched cross-border attacks in places like Niger.

“Additionally, the group is also attempting to replace state institutions for the population under its control,” said Samantha Reho, an AFRICOM spokeswoman, in an updated assessment of the terrorist group.

A concern is that the group’s affiliation with the Islamic State has the potential to provide access to “funds, fighters, weapons, or other assistance from other components of the self-described Islamic State,” Reho said.

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AFRICOM’s latest threat assessment echoes the findings in a new report by the International Crisis Group, which said ISIS-West Africa has succeeded in distinguishing itself from other militant groups and the Nigerian government itself when it comes to gaining the trust of local populations.

“It digs wells, polices cattle rustling, provides a modicum of health care and sometimes disciplines its own personnel whom it judges to have unacceptably abused civilians,” said the ICG report released last week.

The militants also impose taxes, which are generally accepted by communities under the group’s control, the report found. The focus on providing services has given a boost to recruitment and popular support that has resulted in a “jihadist proto-state,” it said.

ISIS-West Africa is estimated to have between 3,500-5,000 fighters. Since last August, they have overrun dozens of Nigerian army bases and killed hundreds of soldiers.

AFRICOM, in its 2019 posture statement, acknowledged that Nigeria has faced “multiple setbacks” as it battles ISIS-West Africa, which “has seized military bases and materiel, including armored vehicles, weapons, and ammunition.”

With the Nigerian military under increased pressure, members of a multinational task force composed of regional militaries need “to increase their commitments, resources, troop deployments,” to counter the extremist group’s momentum, AFRICOM said.

For its part, the command says it continues to provide training to regional militaries involved in the fight against militants. The U.S. military also plans to open a new drone base in neighboring Niger later this summer, from where it will be positioned to conduct more intelligence gathering missions.

Still, ISIS-West Africa’s continued rise comes as the U.S. has reduced the number of special operations troops in the region, where four U.S. soldiers were killed during an ambush in Niger in 2017. The U.S. has cut about 300 counterterrorism troops, mainly in western Africa, in connection with a strategy shift that calls for more focus on great-power competition, AFRCIOM’s Gen. Thomas Waldhauser said last month.

However, some analysts say the effort to counter the militant group’s expansion will require more than just military power. Governments in the Lake Chad area need to find a way to deal with food and water shortages and access to health care if they are to compete with Islamic State’s local appeal, the ICG report said.

“The deeper it (ISIS-West Africa) sinks its roots into the neglected communities of northeastern Nigeria, the more difficult it may be to dislodge,” the report said.https://www.stripes.com/news/africa/isl ... a-1.581799

malikos
Mulazim Awal (ملازم أول)
Mulazim Awal (ملازم أول)
Messages : 1488
Inscription : 01 avril 2012, 13:54

Re: AFRICOM [United States Africa Command]

Message par malikos »

sounds clear to me....they wanna make another war in the Sahel....after Afghanistan and Middle East...targets are running out.
Lindsay Graham is usually very well informed....and his view seems to indicate that Africom is preparing for escalation in Africa.
...just watch the video you find in the link.

As both a candidate and commander-in-chief, President Trump put an emphasis on ending America's involvement in conflicts overseas, especially in Syria and Afghanistan. But the reality has been more complicated; following the collapse of the ISIS caliphate, there are fears the terror group will spread instability to other areas, including Africa. And those fears have the Pentagon re-focusing on what has largely been a forgotten continent that's never gotten the lion's share of resources or funding for anti-terror operations.

General Thomas Waldhauser is the outgoing commander of U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, which is currently running 20 different anti-terror operations involving nearly 6,000 troops. He says there are no plans for a permanent U.S. military footprint on the continent, but says "we do need facilities, as I say, to allow us to mitigate the whole concept of time and space, to allow our forces to get closer to a problem as it develops. This will allow us to get there quicker."

The Pentagon is also warning not to expect a full-scale shift from deployments in Afghanistan to those in Africa, but they're now putting more of a focus on anti-terror operations in countries like Nigeria, Somalia, and Niger, where ongoing violence and a lack of resources have helped de-stabilize local governments. And some lawmakers are worried those conditions could create the perfect breeding ground for militant groups. On a recent trip to Ivory Coast, Senator Lindsey Graham encouraged investment in both infrastructure and security in Africa, saying "this continent has many challenges but many opportunities that are under threat. I fear what has happened in the Mideast is coming to Africa."

And anti-terror operations could already be ramping up - there have been 32 U.S. military drone strikes in Somalia so far this year, compared with 45 for all of 2018. Top generals also say the threat isn't limited to terror groups. The nominee to replace Waldhauser as head of AFRICOM, General Stephen Townsend, is warning about an increase in activity from Russian mercenaries throughout the continent. Ahead of possible new deployments, the Pentagon has been quietly taking steps to increase security for troops on the ground, adding drones, armored vehicles, and new facilities for use during crisis situations. "We've done a holistic review, top to bottom, of where we can improve," says Waldhauser, "and we've tried to implement those actions." And while current plans call for a 10 percent cut in the number of troops assigned to AFRICOM, top generals say all decisions will be based on conditions on the ground.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/more-u ... -caliphate

malikos
Mulazim Awal (ملازم أول)
Mulazim Awal (ملازم أول)
Messages : 1488
Inscription : 01 avril 2012, 13:54

Re: AFRICOM [United States Africa Command]

Message par malikos »

surprise surprise...
Pentagon Ends Review of Deadly Niger Ambush, Again Blaming Junior Officers


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/worl ... eview.html

malikos
Mulazim Awal (ملازم أول)
Mulazim Awal (ملازم أول)
Messages : 1488
Inscription : 01 avril 2012, 13:54

Re: AFRICOM [United States Africa Command]

Message par malikos »

....that is actually surprising.

I find that shocking since the guys were not gay (the Malian neither). However, sexual punishment has become a tool in the context of dirty wars.
Those fellows if true should be punished accordingly...
4 Charged in Green Beret's Death Reportedly Planned to Sexually Assault Him on Camera





Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar (Army Photo)
Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar (Army Photo)
6 Jun 2019
Military.com | By Gina Harkins
Four special operators charged in the 2017 death of one of their comrades planned to tie him up and record him being sexually assaulted, according to a new bombshell report from The Washington Post.

Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell, a Raider with Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, said he was involved in a plan to bust into Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar's room with a sledgehammer, put him in a chokehold, and restrain him while a Malian security guard sexually assaulted him, according to documents obtained by the Post.


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Melgar, a 34-year-old Green Beret, died June 4, 2017, in Mali. He lived there with two Navy SEALs who were later charged with his death. Maxwell and another Marine Raider, both of whom lived nearby at the time, also face charges in connection to the soldier's death.

Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam Matthews, one of Melgar's roommates, pleaded guilty to his role last month. He was sentenced to a year in military prison.

"I've carried the weight of Staff Sgt. Melgar's death every minute of every day since that night in Mali," Matthews said.

Chief Special Warfare Operator Anthony DeDolph, the other SEAL who lived with Melgar and Maxwell, allegedly put the soldier in a chokehold after the four busted into his room using a sledgehammer at about 5 a.m. They were joined by the Malian security guard and a British man who'd befriended the troops, the Post reported. They had returned from a night of drinking, and the British man planned to record the assault, which would be carried out by the security guard, Maxwell wrote in a stipulation of facts obtained by the newspaper.

Maxwell said the plot was meant to embarrass Melgar, according to the Post. He was scheduled to face a court-martial in Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday for charges including negligent homicide. His attorney told the Post he'd plead guilty.

"It was a stupid prank. ... It went bad," Brian Bouffard, Maxwell's civilian defense attorney, told the paper. "Maxwell is eager to accept responsibility for his role in it."

DeDolph's attorney, however, disputed Maxwell's account.

"We absolutely deny that there was any intent to sexually assault Melgar," Phillip Stackhouse said, according to the Post.

The case is one of several high-profile events involving elite U.S. troops who've been accused of wrongdoing. Maj. Matthew Golsteyn, a former Green Beret, has admitted to killing an unarmed suspected Afghan bomb-maker. Navy Special Warfare Operator Chief Eddie Gallagher is accused of stabbing an unarmed, injured prisoner from the Islamic State group.

Both cases caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who is reportedly considering pardons for the two men.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related Topics
Military Headlines Army Special Operations Crime Sexual Assault Army Special Forces - Green Berets

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