The US is in preliminary talks with Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Benin to use their airfields for housing US unarmed reconnaissance drones to stop the spread of the Al-Qaeda* and Daesh* terrorist groups (both banned in Russia), the report said. The said countries and Togo are now in danger posed by Islamist militants surging south from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the report added.
The drones would allow the US forces to carry out aerial surveillance of militant movements along the coast and provide over-the-shoulder tactical and combat advice to local troops during operations, the report said, adding that Washington believes that Mali and Burkina Faso are so inundated with Islamist militants that they are beyond the reach of Western help and that Niger is no longer a reliable ally of the US after July's military takeover.
"There’s really not much option other than to fall back and operate out of the coastal West African states," the report cited retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Mark Hicks, a former commander of US special operations troops in Africa, as saying.
Washington and local officials also believe that terrorist groups are seeking to expand their reach south into countries that produce a wealth of gold and cocoa, one senior US military official told the publication, adding that "coastal West African countries that used to be insulated no longer are."
A senior Benin military officer was cited as saying that Benin has no objection to Washington's use of its airfield, but still needs to work out the details if they receive a formal American request. He added that Benin would benefit from a high-end drone fleet without incurring the cost of buying the equipment itself, the officer said, adding that "such a deployment could contribute to improving surveillance of our borders and preventing malicious incursions."
*Terrorist organizations banned in Russia and many other states