One of the United States’ most senior generals is attempting to re-establish relations with a series of strategically important African countries in a bid to stem the growing influence of Russia and China.

The diplomatic initiative by General Michael Langley, the head of Africa Command (AFRICOM)  comes in the wake of military juntas overthrowing democratic governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. All four countries are now reassessing their ties to the U.S. and the West while turning instead to mercenaries linked to Russia for security assistance.

The U.S. was forced to pull its 1,000 troops and critical counterterrorism and drone base from Niger and is now courting other West African nations that are interested in working with the U.S. and may be open to an expanded American presence.

Addressing journalists at a special online briefing from Kenya, General Langley discussed AFRICOM’s new strategy for U.S. military and counterterrorism cooperation in response to developments in Africa. He stated that the U.S. approach aims to ensure that engagement with the continent is “Africa-led and U.S.-enabled.” 

“To address some of these security issues—whether they be violent extremist organisations or transnational criminal organisations, and to tackle the challenges of climate change and the layered drivers of instability such as population displacement, tribal conflict, or planned conflict across the region, including the Sahel and activities in Somalia—all of these issues are addressed with our African partners first. Then, I listen, learn, and we come up with a collaborative solution set to execute and move forward,” he explained.

Over the course of the summer, Langley travelled across the Maghreb region of Africa and participated in a joint military exercise, ‘African Lion,’ in Morocco, which included 20 countries. He also visited Algeria and Tunisia and made a stop in Libya, where he emphasised the importance of understanding local counterterrorism strategies.

Concern about collaboration between Al-Shabaab and Houthis

In June this year, US intelligence claimed that Yemen’s Houthi rebels with Al-Qaeda’s Somali affiliate, al-Shabaab, were discussing a deal to provide the Somali fighters with weapons. If realised, this collaboration could signify a new Houthi strategy to expand relations with other militant groups and could further disrupt global shipping operations.

General Langley expressed his concern about the potential collaboration between al-Shabaab and Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. “We’re watching it closely and stand ready to work with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and advise him on how to address these new challenges across all of his territories in Somalia,” he said. 

He told the briefing that he meets with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from Somalia every few months to discuss the challenges of his campaign against al-Shabaab. He said the US was contributing to building up the Somalian National Army by “institutionalising, professionalising, helping them to be able to operate in various areas.” 

Gen Langley said he had a meeting with General Muhammad Tahlil Bihi, the Chief of Defense Forces of the Somali National Army where he was briefed on the operational strategies in place He commented that Somalia is in the process of building its army, that this effort is owned by the Government of Somalia, with the U.S. supporting President Mohamud’s stabilisation activities.

Kenya, he said, plays a pivotal role in the fight against al-Shabaab He plans to engage with Kenyan military leadership to discuss future prospects. “They have been tremendous partners with the Somali National Army, helping them institutionalise, professionalise, and collaborate along the border to defeat al-Shabaab,” he said. 

No firm decision on new base for AFRICOM

General Langley confirmed that AFRICOM has “safely and orderly withdrawn from Niger” and emphasised that future cooperation with the Sahel region would be determined in collaboration with local states. “The way forward will be determined regarding what capacity of security cooperation will be across the Sahel, whether we’re talking about the new alliance or coalition of the Alliance of Sahelian States of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali,” he explained. He mentioned that the State Department will dictate the depth and breadth of the relationships in the region.

Gen Langley also highlighted ongoing talks with Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Benin to recalibrate U.S. military assets in response to increasing terrorism threats. “We’re pivoting towards like-minded countries with democratic values, shared objectives, and shared challenges across coastal West Africa,” he said. He recognised the necessity of understanding regional threats posed by violent extremist organizations, such as JNIM, al-Shabaab, ISIS, and AQIM, and their potential expansion toward coastal nations.

“I knew that that the threat was present in these countries across the Sahel; specifically in Burkina Faso, and Mali, and Niger. But now they are metastasizing and moving towards the northern borders of the coastal West Africa states of Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin,” he added. 

The general described his mission as a campaign of learning and listening to identify potential partners capable of addressing these shared challenges. “All these violent extremist organisations have aspirations of attacking the United States homeland as well. Thus, engaging with them to collaboratively address these challenges and defeat terrorism across their borders is essential,” he said. 

Currently, the U.S. is consulting through diplomatic channels to determine the level of collaboration needed to successfully counter terrorism.

Russian and Chinese propaganda after US withdrawal from Niger 

Gen Langley remarked that AFRICOM’s efforts to promote peace in Africa have been distorted by misinformation regarding the aims of U.S AFRICOM in the Sahel.   

‘Misinformation and disinformation have stoked a lot of instability across civil society and across some of these militaries,” he said.  The US was focused, Gen Langley noted, on a shared objective to combat terrorism, but it became evident that the Russian Federation engaged in information warfare across the region, promoting false ideologies within civil society that tried to obscure AFRICOM intent to collaboratively fight terrorism in the Sahel.  

The Russian Federation has been destabilising from the Central African Republic all the way into Libya and the Sahel he said, adding, “Some of those false ideologies, disinformation, has been destabilising across these countries.  And the People’s Republic of China,” he said, “they have been known to put out misinformation and disinformation across the continent as well.“

The Russian television station Russia Today (RT) has launched an advertising campaign with big-screen video promotions in several African capital cities including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.  The images of former African leaders including Robert Mugabe, Julius Nyerere and Kwama Nkrumah are used on the bilboards.

In South Africa, the feed on DStv has been cut in line with a response by dozens of countries in Europe who have suspended RT television channels.  

US AFRICOM not only focuses on defence, but also on diplomacy and development

General Langley emphasised that AFRICOM does not simply define its mission in terms of military bases; instead, it focuses on crisis response capabilities. While there are contingency locations across the continent for rapid response, the goal is to assist both American interests and the needs of partner nations.

Examples of this approach include how AFRICOM provided assistance to communities in Libya during floods and coordinated the extraction of American and other citizens caught up in civil unrest in Sudan.