Senior US official praises Mali’s military junta in fight against armed groups as pressure mounts

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Days after American diplomats and nationals were told to leave Mali, a senior U.S. official praised the military junta and hinted at cooperation between the two governments after years of a strained diplomatic relationship.

“The U.S. commends the armed forces of Mali in their fight against Islamic extremist militants (JNIM). Today I had an excellent conversation with Mali’s Foreign Minister to discuss our shared security interests in the region. Look forward to greater cooperation,” Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary at the U.S. State Department, said in a post on X late Tuesday.

This represents a public shift in the U.S. government’s stance on cooperation with Mali’s military leaders.

Mali’s ministry of foreign affairs declined to comment.

Under the Trump administration, efforts have been undertaken to repair relationships with the junta-led countries in a region that had essentially become a diplomatic vacuum for the U.S. government and other Western partners after the military leaders ordered their departure.

A series of coups across West Africa since 2020, which saw three countries fall to military takeovers, sparked a diplomatic rift between the Sahelian countries and their former major Western partners. The French were booted out of partner countries in the Sahel and American troops were ordered out of Niger.

But since then, attacks by armed groups have only worsened despite joint efforts by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, which constitute the Alliance of Sahel States.

Landau’s comments were welcomed by some in the Malian government who say the cooperation would help the Malian army battle the group that now threatens the capital city.

“Given the Americans’ expertise in this area, this can only be positive for us,” Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, a member of the transition nation council, Mali’s transition legislative body, told the Associated Press.

Experts say that despite the intention of the American government to engage in the Sahel, there is no clear, urgent pathway.

“So far, the U.S. remains engaged diplomatically with no indication if there is going to be a military engagement very soon, unless there is a radical change in the security posture of both countries in the region,” Rida Lyammouri, Sahel expert at Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South, said.

Since September, Al-Qaida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin had enforced a stifling blockade on oil importats into Mali. The blockade has caused a widespread economic impact in the country, with people queuing for hours for fuel, and has also piled pressure on the junta, which came to power on the pretext of fighting armed groups.

Experts say JNIM had been consolidating control in the countryside for some time, but its pressure on of the country’s economic nerve points to bigger ambitions.

“The growing intensity of the fuel blockade, operations on the city’s outskirts, and even reports that the group is in touch with political figures opposed to the government suggest they may now be really considering more of a Taliban-type takeover,” said James Barnett, a research fellow at Hudson Institute, specializing in African security and politics.

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Ope Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.