Middle East & Africa | Lines in the sand

West Africa’s coastal states are bracing for a jihadist storm

With French troops leaving Mali, its neighbours are at risk

Ivorians prepare for the onslaught
|JACQUEVILLE AND ABIDJAN

A DRONE WHIRS overhead as Ivorian special forces creep out of the undergrowth towards a mock village. French trainers watch closely. Nearby, Ghanaian commandos roar down a dusty road before an explosion sends them retreating under the gaze of British soldiers. Operation Flintlock, an annual counter-terrorism training exercise, appears to be going just as it should: regional forces learning from grizzled Western commandos.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Lines in the sand”

Where will he stop?

From the February 26th 2022 edition

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