Johannesburg, South Africa ? The United States is scaling up its military presence in Africa as concern mounts about terrorist threats, both immediate and future, on the continent, the deputy head of American forces in Europe said Friday.

“The threat is not weakening. It is growing,” Air Force Gen. Charles Wald said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from Luanda, Angola. “We can’t just sit back and let it grow.”

The focus on Africa is part of major restructuring as U.S. forces in Europe reposition for the war against terror.

The European Command oversees U.S. military activities in Africa excluding the Horn, site of a U.S. counterterrorism effort for northeast Africa and Yemen.

Africa is a growing strategic interest to the United States because of its terror links and its oil, which is seen as a possible alternative to Middle East fuel.

European Command is not looking to station large concentrations of troops on the continent, Wald said. But it intends to make its presence felt through joint exercises, training initiatives and other exchanges.

U.S. forces have also negotiated access to a number of sites, including air strips in Angola and Gabon, that can be used for stopovers, refueling, or to position troops and equipment.

Wald is one of at least three top U.S. commanders to touch down in Africa in the past two weeks, following the U.S. commander in Europe, Marine Gen. James L. Jones. And Wald said he expected to return about every three months.

Wald’s trip includes stops in regional military powers Nigeria and South Africa; oil-rich Angola, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe; and Algeria and Niger, whose vast desert expanses are seen as a potential haven for terrorists.

The general said there were specific terrorist threats in Africa, which he declined to characterize.

But the United States also is convinced there will be more threats in the area in the future.

The al-Qaida terror network has already staged deadly attacks in East Africa, bombing U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and a Kenyan hotel in 2002.