The U.S. military’s top general in Africa said terrorist factions in the Sahel region have increased their presence so much in the past three years that they soon may be able to launch attacks within the United States.
The region, which mainly includes Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, is “the flashpoint of prolonged conflict and growing instability,” U.S. Africa Command head Gen. Michael Langley told reporters Thursday. “It is the epicenter of terrorism on the globe.”
“Extremist groups are gaining ground and also expanding their ambitions. Therein lies the threat to the homeland,” he added on the sidelines of the African Chiefs of Defense Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
Sahel countries have long struggled to combat violent extremist groups, with some facing greater instability after falling to military coups, U.S. officials have warned.
The military juntas in power have forced out American and French troops, including in September 2024, when the U.S. completed a withdrawal from its bases in Niger after the military seized power in 2023. At the time, defense leaders predicted the pullout would endanger counterterrorism efforts in an important regional foothold.
Langley reiterated those concerns, saying that “we have lost our ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely.”
He said terrorist networks affiliated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda thrive in the region, particularly in Burkina Faso — where the government no longer controls large swaths of its own territory — as well as Lake Chad, located at the junction of Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon in western and central Africa.
Langley said that one group that is of particular concern is Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, which has expanded “fourfold” since 2022 and now controls much of Burkina Faso.
He said one of the militants’ key goals is gaining access to the West African coast. Should they control the coastline, they can finance their operations through smuggling, human trafficking and arms trade, “more easily supporting terrorism to American shores.”
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, investing and forming partnerships with local governments to exert influence.
Langley would not say if 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.”
