U.S. military conducts first maritime drills with West African forces

Nigerian military personnel train during the annual counter-terrorism program called "Operation Flintlock", in Sogakope, Ghana March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko

SOGAKOPE, Ghana (Reuters) - The West African troops silently pulled their small boats up to a rust-stained ferry and swarmed up its sides on grappling hooks to disarm the mock kidnappers onboard.

The drill in Ghana's Volta river on Saturday was carried out during the first ever maritime exercises organised by the U.S. military under its long-running Flintlock programme to bolster the skills of West African forces.