The United States has created a special envoy for Africa's Sahel region.State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus announced the appointment on Twitter:
".@SecPompeo is pleased to appoint @DrJPPham as the first-ever U.S. Special Envoy for the Sahel Region of Africa to maximize U.S. diplomatic efforts in support of security and stability in the Sahel."
Dr Peter Pham, who has served as Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa since November 2018, is vice president and Director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council. He holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Chicago and a doctorate from the Gregorian University, as well as postgraduate degrees in history, law, international relations, and theology, his State Department biography says.
Security has progressively worsened in the Sahel, with militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State strengthening their foothold across the region, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence.
Indications that the Trump administration might withdraw military resources from the region have raised alarm among African and European allies as well as bipartisan protests in Washington.
