World / Africa US to cut military aid for Africa’s fight against terrorism BL PREMIUM

Washington — The US is set to scale back aid to African military units fighting terrorism, as it realigns its defence strategy to compete with more traditional threats from China and Russia. The shift comes despite a growing terrorist threat on the continent that has led to an increased American presence, resulting in attacks on US forces in Niger and Somalia that have left six US service members dead since early 2017. Militants last month even penetrated the headquarters of a military task force in Mali. American counterterrorism aid to sub-Saharan Africa — a category that covers 46 countries — increased dramatically in recent years as the terrorist threat expanded on the continent, rising to $954m in fiscal years 2015-18 from $327m in fiscal years 2011-14, according to Security Assistance Monitor, which analyses US security spending. But under the Trump administration’s new defence strategy, that is all likely to change. "In accordance with the national defence strategy, we’re goi...