The United States Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM) has accused the Russian and Chinese governments of destabilising Africa with misinformation and disinformation despite efforts to amid the continent’s security challenges.

AFRICOM commander Micheal Langely, who disclosed this at a digital press briefing on the strategy used to ensure regional stability and overcome some challenges, explained that disinformation has stocked instability in several African countries.

Mr Langely noted that AFRICOM has engaged with many African countries in addressing the issue of terrorism, stressing that it cannot influence security partners with any nation.

According to him, AFRICOM has its value proposition but prefers that nations understand its initiatives and how both can work together to achieve shared objectives.

“Wen I took command, a lot of my efforts to be able to come in alignment with some of these countries on how we’re going to approach the challenges has been distorted through misinformation or disinformation, trying to state that – untruths of what U.S. AFRICOM was trying to do with a particular country. Misinformation and disinformation have stoked a lot of instability across civil society and across some of these militaries. For example, across the Sahel,” Mr Langely stated.

The U.S. senior military officer added, “You know, we were there, as far as a shared objective to fight terrorism, but then, as you well see, that across the region the Russian Federation had activities in the information space to be able to effect false-type ideologies in civil society as far as the clear intent of what AFRICOM was trying to do to fight terrorism with them, collectively.

“As far as the Russian Federation across the Sahel, it’s been destabilising – destabilising from Central African Republic all the way into Libya and across the Sahel.”

Mr Langely stressed that “some of those false ideologies, disinformation, has been destabilising across these countries,” pointing out that “the PRC (China) – the PRC, they have been known to put out misinformation and disinformation across the continent as well.”