A Canadian diplomat who was held captive by al-Qaida terrorists in the Sahara Desert for 130 days says Canada’s promised boost to defence should include commitments to combatting the growing Islamic terrorism threat in Africa — a threat he says isn’t getting the attention it deserves.
Robert Fowler says it would take “a very large and serious effort to eradicate” the groups that have taken root in West Africa’s Sahel region — particularly Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali — and that U.S. military officials say are fighting to gain access to the western coast, which would increase their ability to attack North America.
“There’s nothing we can say that will dissuade those people from doing what they’re doing — I certainly learned that in the sand,” he told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block.
“They are deeply, absolutely committed and are evidently prepared to die in that commitment. So it would take a very large and serious effort to eradicate them, because they won’t be convinced not to do it.”
Fowler, the longest-serving Canadian ambassador to the United Nations and an adviser to three former prime ministers, was captured by militants with the al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terrorist group in December 2008 while serving as a UN special envoy to Niger.
He was released along with other Western captives the following April.
Since then, the presence of AQIM and other Islamic militant groups in the Sahel region has only grown, carrying out attacks against civilians while claiming wide swaths of territory.
Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali are currently ruled by military juntas who took power through coups in the last two years, with varying degrees of Islamic influence.
Around 5,000 civilians have been killed in the violence in those three countries in the first five months of this year, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a 25-per cent increase from the previous five months.
The loss of the French and American militaries from the region in recent months has further created a power vacuum, experts like Fowler say.
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Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, told reporters last week that the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Niger and an important counterterrorism base there last September means it has “lost our ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely,” as violent attacks in the Sahel continue to rise in both “frequency and complexity.”
He added that U.S. forces are “standing with” local militaries in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Benin to prevent those groups from reaching their coasts.
“If they secure access to the coastline, they can finance their operations through smuggling, human trafficking, and arms trading,” Langley said in a media briefing.
“This puts not just African nations at risk, but also increases the chance of threats reaching the U.S. shores.”
Fowler said Canada also faces this risk, particularly the threat of individual acts of violence in the name of groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
“I think it is fair to say that Islamic terrorism has not been beaten,” he said.
“Whatever success we had in Iraq, and the non-success we had in Afghanistan, hasn’t in any way blunted the jihadi movement, and so we’re going to have to be extremely vigilant.”
He added that western governments aren’t prepared to commit the investments and military capabilities necessary to eliminate those threats in Africa.
“Whatever they should be doing, they won’t be doing for all kinds of reasons, most of which have nothing to do with Africa,” he said. “There are other issues and other concerns, and everybody needs money for those different things, and that doesn’t leave much for Africa.
“The French had 5,000 top-line soldiers there for years, and they couldn’t do it. It would take much more than that. But no, I don’t think we have the will to do it.”
Canada’s new Africa Strategy, released in March, commits over $30 million to “peace and security” projects in the Sahel and other conflict-affected regions like Sudan, but are focused primarily on humanitarian aid and civilian supports.
The Canadian Forces ended its peacekeeping mission in Mali in 2023 and has otherwise drastically reduced its presence on the continent.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has committed to bolstering border security, building on promises under the previous Liberal government to enhance screening of entry points and crack down on illegal crossings and smuggling.
Fowler said the African threat should further inspire the Canadian government to spend “a whole lot more” on defence, which he said has been “pitiful” for years.
Carney has vowed to get Canada’s defence spending to NATO’s target level of two per cent of GDP by 2030, and the Liberal platform promised $30 million in new spending over the next four years. The government spent just over 1.3 per cent last year.
“We don’t have to think nice things about President Trump, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t wrong when he criticizes our defence performance,” Fowler said.
“He is right: we have been getting for years a free ride, particularly in continental defence.”
While he wouldn’t go so far as to recommend Canada sign on to Trump’s “Golden Dome” space-based missile defence concept, Fowler said it’s “illogical” that Canada is not part of the current U.S. ballistic missile defence initiative and similar programs.
“We very much have to convince the Americans that we are doing our bit, that we are sovereign and are committed to remaining so, because I think Canadians deserve that kind of defence of their territory,” he said.
Asked what advice he’d give Carney, Fowler said simply: “Sign on.”
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