Counter-Terrorism & Strategy: Why U.S. Special Forces Are in Nigeria – Gen. Anderson

To decisively tackle terrorism in West Africa, the United States has dispatched Special Forces to Nigeria.

United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) Commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson confirmed the move Tuesday in a digital news conference, noting that the mission aims to “flush out” insurgents.

This strategic partnership solidified after talks between Anderson and President Bola Tinubu, resulting in the President’s approval of the U.S. airstrikes launched against ISIS militants last December.

Anderson said that he and Tinubu had agreed that both countries needed to coordinate their efforts to fight terrorists not only in Nigeria, but in the sub-region.

He described U.S partnership with Nigeria as a great example of a very willing and capable partner, who requested the unique capabilities that only the U.S. can bring.

“We assist with some of the ISR, some of the intelligence fusion to bring that to bear together, and when we do that, we are much more effective to counter these threats.

“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small U.S. team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years,” he said.

The AFRICOM Chief, however, did not elaborate further on the composition of the U.S. special team, which he said was already in the country.

Anderson stressed that wherever the U.S. finds a capable, willing partner to work with, like Nigeria, which can fuse the unique capabilities that U.S. brings, success was guaranteed in addressing terrorism threats.

He told the news conference: “We are looking at working in West Africa. I think a great example of that is the partnership we’ve had with Nigeria.

“My deputy was there just recently with a high-level delegation from the State Department, led by Allison Hooker, in order to look at how we can continue to move forward together.”

He pointed out that West Africa and the Sahel were currently facing a growing threat from terrorist groups like Daesh, al-Qaida, and JNIM.

“We are seeing them apply more pressure in those areas, especially across the Sahel, threatening the capitals in the region, spilling down into some of the other (coastal) countries.”

Anderson said that he recently traveled to several West African countries, especially along the Gulf of Guinea, and understood the shared concerns, which they have as the threat of terrorism continues to expand.

According to him, AFRICOM’s counterterrorism strategy focuses on the U.S. coordinating with partner countries in Africa.

“We will continue to engage with willing partners to address this common threat as we look across the region.

“Being able to counter these threats together, I think, has been, and is critical to our future,” he said.

Besides West Africa, he said, AFRICOM had also carried out counterterrorism campaigns in other parts of Africa, adding that, long before the strikes in Nigeria, other sub-regions also had AFRICOM’s attention.

For instance, he said, in Somalia, ISIS had become the second major terrorist group, where al-Shabab, which is affiliated to al-Qaida, has been a major force for two decades.

“ISIS-Somalia fighters holed up in a remote mountain range in northern Somalia have been a frequent target for AFRICOM airstrikes.

“The airstrike campaign, combined with surveillance and logistics support, has enabled AFRICOM’s Somali partners to carry out an offensive against the insurgents.

“It’s collapsed the area that ISIS has been able to operate in … (and is) quite literally keeping them and ISIS leadership underground,” Anderson added.

The U.S. Air Force General also announced that the U.S. would hold the largest joint military exercise for Africa, Europe and Middle East, called the ‘African Lion 2026!” in Morocco in May.

The joint military exercise will comprise 19 African countries, six European forces and several others from the Middle East and Latin America, totaling to more than 30 forces.

He said the exercise, which coincides with the U.S. 250th independence anniversary, would illustrate the extent of multilateral cooperation on security at the continental level.