This is according to two senior Ivorian security officials who told Reuters they expected a decision from Washington next year.
One of the Ivorian sources, a senior counterterrorism official, said Abidjan and Washington agreed on regional security needs, and timing was the only issue that remained to be determined.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, while the Pentagon said it wasn’t currently planning operations in the Ivory Coast. The State Department declined to comment, but said: “We will actively continue to pursue our counterterrorism objectives where there is a nexus to US interests.”
The Ivorian Defence Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Washington lost access to its main base in West Africa last year, when Niger turned to Russia for security assistance and kicked US forces out of a $100 million drone base.
The base had provided crucial intelligence on groups allied with al Qaeda and Islamic State across the Sahel, where 3 885 deaths last year were attributed to terrorism, making up half the global total, according to the Global Terrorism Index.
–Reuters–
