US Fears ‘Losing’ Mali to Islamic Extremists – Under Secretary of State

US government officials fear that Mail is may be taken over by jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the Daesh, US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Sarah Sewall said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Daesh is a terrorist group banned in Russia and numerous other countries.

“The center of that country is starting to fray,” Sewall stated on Monday. “We are at risk of losing Mali. I would put Mali on [the] list of acute concern.”

Sewall noted that Boko Haram and Daesh had spread their influence from northern Mali through the center of the country, where government outposts were now generally isolated.

The governments of Mali and Nigeria were unable to establish effective control over large areas of their own countries giving the jihadist movements the opportunity to establish themselves strongly in those regions, Sewall warned.