ISIS Now Operating In Lake Chad Basin, Sahel Region, US Warns Nigeria, Other African Countries
By Rotela Oguns
The United States has sounded a note of warning to Nigerians and other African countries in Sahel region to beef up security along their borders to prevent the infiltration of terrorists deracinated by the recent attacks of the US on Iran and other strongholds of Islamic extremist groups.
The warning was contained in the US 2026 counterterrorism strategy which stressed that Africa may start witnessing a resurgence of terrorists which if it continues to grow unchecked might pose a threat to global security.
Also identified as hotbeds of insurgency and terrorism in the US strategy document are Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, Sudan and Somalia.
The document also added that remnants of the Islamic State and affiliated jihadist groups had relocated to Africa and Central Asia, exploiting ungoverned spaces and weak security structures.
“President Trump unleashed the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen, and within a matter of weeks, a Jihadi insurgency which controlled vast territories across Iraq and Syria was gone.
“Subsequently, the surviving remnants of the world’s most dangerous terrorist group of the modern age were forced to relocate to Africa and Central Asia, in turn exploiting the ungoverned spaces there.
“As a result, today, there are parts of Africa where a resurgent terror threat is the reality. These include in West Africa, the Sahel region, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, Sudan, and of course Somalia, where parts of ISIS have re-established themselves and Al Shabaab maintains its tribal-based Islamist insurgency,” it read.
The US said its major objective in Africa would be to prevent extremist groups from establishing operational bases capable of launching attacks against American interests.
“We will continue to work together with governments threatened by groups like ISIS and al Qaeda affiliates who threaten us as well, and assist them with actionable intelligence and CT partner-force development until our shared foes no longer pose a serious threat to either them or us,” it added.
The document also declared that the protection of Christians targeted by terrorist groups would remain a key priority of the administration.
According to the strategy, Washington would continue rebuilding bilateral counterterrorism relations with African governments while reducing direct military deployments on the continent.
“We will continue to work together with governments threatened by groups like ISIS and al Qaeda affiliates who threaten us as well, and assist them with actionable intelligence and CT partner-force development,” the document stated.
The strategy criticised previous US foreign policies under former President Joe Biden, claiming they weakened counterterrorism efforts and allowed extremist organisations to regroup across Africa.
Referencing Nigeria specifically, the document praised recent actions taken by President Donald Trump over attacks on Christians in the country.
“With the decisive action President Trump recently took in Nigeria, he made it clear that the slaughter of Christians will not go unchecked,” the document stated.
