From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Nov 18 2009 - 07:33:35 EST
US Officials: Terrorism in Africa's Sahel Region Increasing Concern
By Cindy Saine
Capitol Hill
17 November 2009
Senior U.S. government officials say terrorism is an increasing concern in
Africa's Sahel region. Government leaders told members of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee that the United States needs to play a supporting role,
and not a leadership role, in efforts to help countries in the Sahel region
fight terrorism.
Several high-level Obama administration officials told a Senate panel the
United States and its allies are supporting counter-terrorism efforts in the
Sahel countries, which include Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria,
Chad, Sudan, Eritrea and Senegal.
The region is one of the poorest in the world, and governments there often
lack the necessary resources to fight terrorist activity, which surged when
al-Qaida branches began to emerge in Africa. In January 2007, the group
"al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb" announced its existence.
The State Department's Coordinator for Counter-terrorism, Daniel Benjamin,
described the problem.
"Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb continues to menace parts of the Maghreb
and the Sahel. In the north it is frustrated by Algeria's effective
counter-terrorism operations, but in parts of the Sahel it continues to
operate with considerable impunity," he said.
Benjamin said the extremist group finances itself mainly by kidnapping
foreign tourists and diplomats and demanding ransom, and commits murders and
other crimes to garner media attention.
US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson (File)
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson said the
United States is committed to helping the Sahel countries fight terrorism,
but realizes this needs to be done in a supporting, and not a leadership
role.
"Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and others in the region can manage and contain
this issue if they work together, and receive appropriate encouragement and
support from countries like the United States," he explained. "We should not
seek to take this issue over. It is not ours, and doing so might have
negative consequences for U.S. interests over the long term," he said.
The United States has stepped up support for Mali for example, providing
pick-up trucks, communications equipment and training courses for the Malian
Army.
U.S. Agency for International Development Acting Assistant Administrator for
Africa Earl Gast explained the focus of his agency's efforts in the region
to combat extremism.
"Youth empowerment, education, media and good governance are the four areas
where we see the greatest opportunity for local partnerships and progress,"
he said.
Gast said the Agency for International Development specifically reaches out
to young men in the Sahel region, the group most likely to be targeted by
extremist groups.
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