Terrorist attacks are on the rise in Benin, a state that is seeking to strengthen its partnerships to deal with them. The Accra Initiative − which the country is at the origin with Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo − is “the ideal framework for the fight against terrorism, particularly in southern Burkina”, said Beninese President Patrice Talon on July 27, 2022, when he received his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. A few days earlier, a report from the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel noted that “It front of terrorist acts committed in coastal countries of the sub-region”the latter had “intensified their collaboration within the framework of the Accra initiative”.
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This initiative, which can be considered as the counterpart of the G5 Sahel (bringing together Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and until recently Mali) for the countries of the Gulf of Guinea. His reason of being : “to promote the exchange of information as well as cooperation in the conduct of cross-border military operations”, said an Ivorian official at the UN. The Accra Initiative is born “in response to the growing insecurity in the sub-region”, reminds franceinfo Africa Seidik Abba, author of Mali-Sahel: our own Afghanization? (Impact Editions).
“Except that since its launch in 2017, there hasn’t really been any concrete action”. Which is all the more regrettable, according to the specialist, that Burkina “is a member of both the G5 Sahel and the Accra Initiative. It is a strategic country for the jihadists because it shares four borders with the countries of the Gulf of Guinea: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo”, he adds.
Seidik Abba also regrets that the countries behind the Accra Initiative “have not developed anything between themselves and have not moved closer to the countries of the Sahel either”. “IThey should have been alerted to the fact that the kidnapping of two French people in Pendjari Park, Benin in May 2019, was perpetrated by terrorists who came from Burkina Faso where they brought their hostages back. It was in this country that the French intervention took place to free them. This is clearly a lack of anticipation“.
The idea, however, was “good” because the Accra Initiative “was thought of as a kind of cordon sanitaire which would serve to block jihadists in the Sahel”. “Unfortunately, laments the journalist, Member States have not developed a real strategy to thwart the descent of these terrorists. And the threat today goes far beyond the Sahel”. “There is little doubt that regional cooperation is needed to defeat terrorism”, insists Seidik Abba.
While the Accra Initiative seems to be reviving, the essayist stresses that it should “start by restoring and intensifying, despite Mali’s withdrawal, this cooperation between the G5 Sahel and the Accra Initiative”. Especially since “Niger and Mali have been accepted as observer members so that they can share their experiences”. In addition, these coastal countries “must be able to draw lessons from the failure of the Sahel States’ response to security challenges”. The latter having bet on the “all safe” and hidden “the issue of development”. Operationally, there should be “right to sue” within the Accra Initiative, a measure that works in the G5 Sahel. This right allows, for example, Niger to pursue over 50 km jihadists who have perpetrated attacks on its territory and who are retreating to Mali, without having to request prior authorization from Bamako.
The pooling of resources between the two organizations would also be welcome. “Especially since those in the Gulf of Guinea are more affluent than their Sahelian neighbours. Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are the second and third largest economies in the Economic Community of West African States”. Otherwise, “these countries have well-equipped armies” and Ghana has “a real military expertise acquired from its participation in numerous UN peacekeeping operations”.