Homeland Security Network Blog
Head Of Africa Command Says ‘Deadly Terrorism Has Metastasized’ On Continent
Washington Examiner
Head Of Africa Command Says ‘Deadly Terrorism Has Metastasized’ On Continent
by Mike Brest, Defense Reporter
The head of Africa Command warned members of Congress about the multitude of threats to the United States emanating from the continent in testimony on Tuesday.
Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of AFRICOM, testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he laid out the terrorism landscape and provided insight into Russia's and China’s investments in Africa.
“Due to a lack of effective governance and counter-terrorism pressure,” the terror group al-Shabaab “has only grown stronger and bolder over the past year,” while “Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslmin, or JNIM, has metastasized into a powerful, sprawling terrorist network now threatening Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and littoral West Africa,” he said in his written testimony.
Townsend also expressed concern about the Islamic State, which he said exploits “ungoverned spaces, including recognition and creation of new branches elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa," which "has increased the groups’ ability to destabilize local governments, exploit fragility and instability factors, and drive radicalism.”
The Army general warned lawmakers that violent extremist organizations have “shifted their weight of effort to Africa” and said the U.S. and partners “have not achieved the success we need” in “disrupt[ing] and degrad[ing] the most dangerous” groups, though he noted “al-Qaeda and ISIS in West Africa does not pose an immediate threat to the U.S. homeland.”
“Deadly terrorism has metastasized to Africa. Al-Qaeda’s Al-Shabaab in East Africa and ISIS and Al Qaeda groups in West Africa and elsewhere are among the world's fastest growing, wealthiest, and deadliest terrorist groups and remain grave and growing threats that aspire to kill Americans, both there and in our homeland," he told the senators.
China's and Russia's efforts in Africa also pose a threat to America, and the two adversaries to the U.S. "have long recognized Africa's importance," he added.
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