West African Coast Could Boost Revenue for Jihadists, US Warns
A displacement camp in Dori, Burkina Faso.
Photographer: Fanny Noaro-Kabre/AFP/Getty ImagesIslamist militants in West Africa could develop new revenue streams if they succeed in reaching the coast, the head of the US military’s Africa Command warned Tuesday.
“They would love to be able to get to the coastline to connect those revenue streams,” General Michael E Langley told reporters in a briefing in Nairobi. Coastal access would allow extremist groups to transition from generating revenue through kidnapping for ransom and taxation to activities such as “smuggling” and “trafficking of persons,” he added.