The United States has pledged to support countries in the sub-region of West Africa to combat armed insurgency through its Operation Flintlock.
In an effort to prevent threats to economic growth and transformation, the US will work with civil society and development partners to ensure the region remains peaceful, thereby attracting foreign investment.
Speaking at the exercise, US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer highlighted that one of the primary objectives of the Flintlock exercise is to foster trust between risk communities and armed forces through activities such as medical outreach events.
While acknowledging that military force alone cannot fully address security threats, Palmer stressed the importance of addressing the root causes of conflicts, including economic, inter and intra-communal tensions, weak institutions and resource competition, in order to achieve lasting solutions.
“The US continues to support bilateral and regional capacity-building initiatives to counter the threats of terrorism with partners, civil society, defence, law enforcement, and the judiciary systems,” she added.
Operation Flintlock is the US Africa Command’s largest and premier annual special operations exercise, aimed at strengthening key partner nation forces across Africa alongside the US. Ghana is hosting Operation Flintlock for the first time in 15 years.
