The general in charge of U.S. Africa Command warned Friday that terrorist factions in the Sahel region have increased so much in the past three years that they soon might be able to launch attacks on the U.S.
Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, who has led AFRICOM since 2022, said the region has become the “epicenter” for terrorism in Africa, with al-Qaida and Islamic State group affiliates operating in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
“One of the terrorists’ new objectives is gaining access to the West African Coast,” Langley told reporters, according to Stars and Stripes. “If they secure access to the coastline, they can finance their operations through smuggling, human trafficking and arms trade.”
He added such a scenario “increases the chance of threats reaching the U.S. shores.”
U.S. efforts in the region were hindered by the Biden administration’s decision in 2024 to withdraw U.S. drone bases in Niger, which were hubs for surveillance across western Africa. A 2023 coup in Niger ended a long-standing American partnership with that country.
“We have lost our ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely,” Langley said.
The Sahal region stretches from Senegal east to Sudan, forming a transitional zone between the arid Sahara Desert to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south. It stretches from the Atlantic east through northern Senegal, southern Mauritania, the great bend of the Niger River in Mali, Burkina Faso, southern Niger, northeastern Nigeria, south-central Chad and into Sudan.
Langley on Friday met with other defense leaders at the African Chiefs of Defense Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Concerns over increased attacks in West Africa and a similar situation on the other side of the continent in Somalia come as the Pentagon reassesses its strategy in Africa, Stars and Stripes reported.
In Somalia, several hundred U.S. troops are part of a mission to help local forces fight an al-Qaida-aligned group known as al-Shabab. ISIS Somalia also has grown there. President Donald Trump removed U.S. forces from Somalia at the end of his first term to scale back American military commitments abroad. The Biden administration returned U.S. troops to the country amid concerns that al-Shabab was gaining ground.
Langley said AFRICOM has stepped up efforts against al-Shabab in Somalia, launching more than 25 airstrikes this year, more than double the number conducted in 2024. He added that lasting success “will require a comprehensive strategy and addressing the root causes of instability.”
Somalia has a weak central government and has been in disarray for decades despite international efforts to build up the country. Langley’s warnings come as the Trump administration has canceled aid programs across Africa and is mulling consolidating its forces on the continent. China and Russia have moved to fill the void left by departing U.S. troops, The Hill reported Friday, investing and forming partnerships with local governments to exert influence.
Langley would not say whether the U.S would further cut its force levels in Africa but stressed that African militaries will need to bear more of the security burden.
“Our strategy is about partnership. It’s about the mutual goal of keeping homelands, both ours and our partners,’ safe,” he said. “It’s about building a long-term capacity, not dependence. It’s about investing in Africa’s ability to solve African problems.”
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