By Murtala Issah
Military commanders in the West African subregion have reiterated the need for joint efforts to defeat the increasing threat of violent extremism in the subregion.
Addressing military personnel at the military training camp at Daboya in the Savannah region, the U.S Army Southern European Taskforce, Africa, Major General Todd Wasmund, said the threat of terrorism in the subregion requires a well-trained force to counter the threat.
He made the remarks after a simulation exercise at Daboya under the Umbrella of Exercise African Lion, where US Army personnel and their Ghanaian counterparts, staged an attack on the Daboya camp and successfully neutralised the enemy, killing many and arresting several others.
Exercise Africa Lion is a joint military exercise that seeks to bolster collaboration between the US Army and their counterparts across some eighteen nations globally.
In Ghana, the exercise is seen as an opportunity to boost the skills of Ghanaian troops in preventing and containing violent extremism which is fast spreading from the Sahel towards Coastal countries including Togo, Benin, the Ivory Coast and Ghana.
Addressing the troops after the simulation exercise at the Daboya Military Training Camp, the Commander of the US Army’s Southern European Taskforce, Todd Wasmund, emphasized that, such exercises are necessary for countering global threats including terrorism.
“Each activity has demonstrated for all to see, our cohesion, our resolve and our shared commitment to security in Africa, ” he emphasized.
In attendance were some military chiefs from Togo, Benin, and the Ivory Coast.
The Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, Major General Thomas Oppong Peprah, expressed satisfaction at the preparedness of Ghanaian soldiers in dealing with any external threat.
“In order to fight emerging threats, there is the need for collaboration, there is the need for jointness, there is the need for unity, and I can see from the crowd, a mix of Americans, Ghanaians, Beninoise, Ivorians, and so on and so forth. It tells you how to deal with emerging threats. No country can do it alone. So joint operations, joint collaborations have all come to stay,” he stated.
This year’s edition is being hosted by Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, and Djibouti with more than ten thousand participants from eighteen countries.
