Trump admin weighing military options in Mali.

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President Donald Trump is reportedly considering launching military strikes in Mali to target an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, U.S. officials said.

The Trump administration is reportedly considering launching strikes against the al-Qaeda-affiliated group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, which has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks and kidnappings since 2017. The group mostly operates in West African nations, and last month, it performed a lethal attack at an airport in Niger.

According to reports from the Washington Post, administration officials disagree on whether to attack the militant group. The report says that one advocate for launching the campaign is the National Security Council’s senior director for counterterrorism, Sebastian Gorka.

Interestingly, the White House did not directly comment on possible strikes. However, a spokesperson said that the U.S. has been pressuring governments in North and West Africa to “purchase U.S. equipment and services to support their war efforts against the terrorists.”

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Mali is one of Africa’s largest gold-producing nations, and it is among the alliance of military-controlled governments that have cut ties with Western nations and turned to Russian forces for security help after military coups toppled their democratic government. Other countries in the alliance include Burkina Faso and Niger.

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