Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana host AFRICOM panafrican drills

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are hosting US Africa military command AFRICOM drill bringing together 29 countries in view strengthening the capacities of armies of the participating countries to tackle terrorism and extreme violence.

The drill began on March 1st and will run through March 15th. Around 1,300 soldiers from 29 countries mostly from West Africa.

The participating nations are Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Libya, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Morocco, Tunisia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.

Dubbed Flintlock Africa, the maneuver intends to strengthen the ability of key partner nations in the region to counter violent extremist organizations, collaborate across borders, and provide security for their people, while respecting human rights and building trust with civilian populations. The robust participation of African and international partners reflects a mutual commitment to countering malign activity and violent extremism throughout the Sahel and West Africa region, the command said.
Last year, Côte d’Ivoire hosted Flintlock 2022, with more than 400 participants from ten nations. This year’s iteration aims to continue reinforcing the collective ability of allied and partner nations to address key security challenges.
Flintlock is the command’s premier and largest annual special operations exercise on the continent and started in 2005.