‘No country can fight terrorism alone’ – US AFRICOM Commander

• Posted on February 25, 2026February 25, 2026
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) says the fight against terrorism cannot be won by any country acting alone, as violent extremism continues its worrying spread from the Sahel toward coastal states.

Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Dagvin Anderson, made the urgent call for regional cooperation during an interview on JoyNews’ Africa Connect on February 24.

He stressed that the terrorist threat has evolved beyond the capacity of any single nation to contain.

“No one nation can take this threat out alone,” General Anderson declared.

His warning comes against a backdrop of escalating violence in the Sahel region, with spillover effects now reaching Ghana and other coastal West African countries. The General revealed that terrorist networks, having been pressured in other parts of the world, have found fertile ground in the Sahel’s vast ungoverned spaces.

“Unfortunately, we’re very concerned about it. The violent terrorist threat is continuing to spread. It’s taken root in the Sahel and it’s continued to expand,” he said.

According to the AFRICOM chief, the United States military closely monitors global terrorist networks and has observed a significant migration of extremist elements into the West African sub-region.

“One of the things that we do at AFRICOM and within the U.S. military is we look at these terrorist threats globally. So we understand how these networks evolve and move. And what we have seen is that a large portion of that network has migrated into the Sahel. They found refuge there in ungoverned space and they have taken advantage of that,” Anderson explained.

The consequences, he noted, are devastating and far-reaching. Mass migration, displacement, and the creation of refugee populations have become hallmarks of the instability, with violence increasingly spilling across borders.

The General’s remarks carried particular resonance for Ghana, as he directly addressed recent tragic incidents involving Ghanaian civilians who have fallen victim to extremist violence while pursuing their livelihoods in border areas.

“My heart goes out to the Ghanaians that were up there just doing trade working, who were also killed by violent extremists, just doing their daily job. And so this is the terrible place that that instability brings, not just in those isolated areas,” he said.

General Anderson revealed that his extensive travel across the region is driven by the urgent need to build partnerships and coordinate responses to the common threat.

“That’s a large portion of the reason why I’ve been traveling to many countries around the region, is to look where we can partner,” he stated.

-Joy News