US President Trump’s aim to limit the involvement of US troops in foreign wars will not just affect Syria and, depending on the outcome of the ongoing US-Taliban peace negotiations, Afghanistan. Africa is already impacted, as the US Department of Defense (DoD) is withdrawing one-fourth of its forces in the continent, mostly from the western part of Africa.
African Islamist fighters seem bound to take advantage of the resulting military vacuum. For instance, extremist groups in Niger are already launching attacks on northern parts of Burkina Faso and are trying to move further south, which may eventually lead them to wreak havoc in countries where insurgents have not manifested themselves yet, such as Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo and Ghana. Analysts consider the scenario unfolding in Africa an example of what may happen in the middle east as well.
