Trump admin weighing military options in Mali as war with Iran drags indefinitely

President Donald Trump is reportedly considering launching military strikes in Mali to target an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, U.S. officials said.

The Trump administration is reportedly considering launching strikes against the al-Qaeda-affiliated group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, which has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks and kidnappings since 2017. The group mostly operates in West African nations, and last month, it performed a lethal attack at an airport in Niger.

According to reports from the Washington Post, administration officials disagree on whether to attack the militant group. The report says that one advocate for launching the campaign is the National Security Council’s senior director for counterterrorism, Sebastian Gorka.

Neither Gorka, the Pentagon, nor the Malian government immediately commented on possible U.S. military strikes.

Interestingly, the White House did not directly comment on possible strikes. However, a spokesperson said that the U.S. has been pressuring governments in North and West Africa to “purchase U.S. equipment and services to support their war efforts against the terrorists.”

Separately, an administration official told The Independent that it hopes the Alliance of Sahel States “prevails against terrorism, but the blame for the deteriorating security situation falls upon Russia, which has proven to be an ineffective security partner for Mali.”

Mali is one of Africa’s largest gold-producing nations, and it is among the alliance of military-controlled governments that have cut ties with Western nations and turned to Russian forces for security help after military coups toppled their democratic government. Other countries in the alliance include Burkina Faso and Niger.

“We hope that other African nations take note of Russia’s terrible performance in combating terrorism,” one administration official told The Independent.

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