AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo called for a “global coalition of democracies” to fight violent extremist groups in West Africa that have been spreading south from the Sahel toward Ghana and its neighbors.
“The menace caused by terrorism is such that we must share the burden of the fight,” Akufo-Addo said in an October 2023 Washington, D.C., speech at the U.S. Institute for Peace. “This is a time for a global coalition of democracies, a coalition of the willing, determined to banish the specter of terrorism and violent extremism.”
With extremists controlling large swaths of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, external partners have been looking to help Ghana and other coastal West African states strengthen their defenses.
Ghana so far has been spared direct extremist violence, but Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo all have suffered attacks near their borders in recent years.
The president’s call for more security assistance comes as France and the United States have pulled back security assistance in recent years from Burkina Faso and Mali as extremist violence has spiraled and military juntas have taken over. A July coup in Niger spelled the defeat of another Western partner in the region.
But Akufo-Addo said Ghana and other coastal countries are prepared to tackle their security challenges. “West African troops can do the job,” he said, praising cooperation and intelligence sharing among Gulf of Guinea and Sahel countries.
As of 2023, Benin had reported more than 20 armed incursions since 2021, and Togo’s president in April 2023 said that 100 civilians and 40 Soldiers had been killed in jihadist attacks.