Mark Esper travels to North Africa concerned about the situation in Libya

It had been 14 years since the head of the Pentagon had set foot in Algeria, until this Friday. The US defence secretary, Mark Esper, met the Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, with whom he analysed the Libyan conflict, the instability in the Sahel and the fight against global Jihadism.

According to the official Algerian news agency APS, during the meeting Tebboune and Esper expressed their common wish to reinforce bilateral and regional cooperation in all these matters, as well as in the field of military exchange.

Algerian diplomatic sources confirmed to EFE that instability in the Sahel was one of the issues addressed in depth and that both parties agreed to 'continue their consultations and coordination to consolidate peace and security in the region within the framework of respect for the unity and sovereignty of States'.

In this context, US sources admitted that the Pentagon is particularly concerned about the ways of fighting the Jihadist groups that are spread across the north of Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Chad, the south of Tunisia and Algeria, and the conflictive region of Lake Chad.

This broad strip of territory, used by the mafias engaged in trafficking migrants and smuggling weapons and fuel, has witnessed the growth of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims in recent years, a Jihadist platform created in 2017 by the Tuareg leader Iyad Ghali and encompassing radical organisations such as Al-Murabitum, Ansar al-Sharia and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The intense terrorist activity, which is also leaking into Libya, has led countries like France and Spain to move military contingents to the area and the US to open a major drone base in the Nigerian city of Agadez, gateway to the Sahel.
 

Esper will conclude its tour of the Maghreb, which began on Wednesday in Tunisia, this Friday in Morocco-the USA's main ally in the area-and will also address the new process of dialogue in Libya, which should have continued in the Moroccan city of Bouznika following the military and security meeting held this week in the Egyptian city of Hurgada, "successfully" according to the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Both parties agreed to reduce war tension, reopen land and air routes and resume security and military dialogue in the framework of the 5+5 formula.

However, the Council of State, which is close to the government of National Accord supported by the UN in Tripoli (GNA), and the parliament elected in Tobruk, which is supervised in the east by Marshall Khalifa Haftar, the country's strongman, failed to sit down at the political negotiation table in Morocco, which should have begun on 26 September and was postponed twice, the last time without a date..

Tunisian President Kais Saied met Mark Esper to discuss security in the region and the fight against terrorism. In a press release, the president stressed the need to provide a comprehensive approach that addresses the economic and social causes of Jihadism, in addition to the security factor.

"The vaccine against terrorism requires freedom of thought, which confirms the importance of culture and education as an engine for eliminating the causes of this epidemic", Saied pointed out.

Neighbouring Libya, which has been embroiled in a conflict since 2015, was one of the main focuses of this discussion, in which the dignitary stressed his country's diplomatic position: an inter-Libyan political solution without foreign interference.

In this regard, the head of state recalled that Tunisia is one of the countries "most affected" by the deterioration of the situation "and will therefore make every effort to find a political solution that preserves its unity and stability".

A vision shared by Esper, who pledged to contribute to the search for a "peaceful" solution that would help to establish stability in the region, as well as strengthen cooperation in the framework of security and defence.

The US official also met his Tunisian counterpart, Ibrahim Bartaji, to establish a roadmap for bilateral co-operation over the next decade. According to a statement issued by the Department of Defence, this initiative is aimed at increasing the Tunisian army's preparation and developing its capabilities for addressing regional threats and challenges.