"Today the terrorist groups, emboldened by their success in the regions, are seeking new grounds," Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo said on Tuesday, the second day of the Accra Initiative security conference. He warned that the situation "threatens to engulf the entire West Africa region."
West African leaders and European ministers are in Ghana's capital Accra to discuss regional solutions to the insurgency that is spreading as foreign troops pull out of Mali, where militants have seized vast swathes of territory.
Attacks have increased over the past decade despite efforts to fight insurgents. The violence has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2.7 million across the Sahel, according to the UN, and has exacerbated a food crisis in the region.
France, Denmark, and the Cote d'Ivoire are among countries that ended military cooperation with Mali this year over the ruling junta's cooperation with Russian mercenaries.
Mali, where West Africa's insurgency took root in 2012, has been at odds with regional governments, Western powers, and a United Nations peacekeeping mission since a military government that seized power in an August 2020 coup failed to hold promised elections. Collaboration with Russia and alleged army abuses has exacerbated tensions.
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