The G5 Sahel group of states and France leaders have agreed to form a joint military coalition under command and vowed to prioritize their counter-insurgency efforts against the Islamic State.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted the leaders of Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania at a summit in the town Pau on Monday, January 13 the leaders discussed security and the presence of France-led forces in Africa’s Sahel region.
The leaders jointly announced a new Sahel formation aimed at increasing d coordination between forces in the Sahel and the France-led Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism troops.
In a joint declaration released by President Emmanuel Macron, the leaders highlighted that military efforts would focus on the Burkina Faso-Mali-Niger tri-border area with the G5 Sahel Joint Force (FCG5S) and Barkhane operating under joint command and targeting Islamic State as a priority.
President Macron also announced that an additional 220 French military personnel would be deployed to the region, and that European, African and extended invitation to international forces to join the Sahel Coalition in the fight against Islamic State.
The leaders also expressed gratitude for “crucial support” provided by the United States.
The French military presence in the Sahel began in 2013 with Operation Serval in Mali, and changed in August 2014 into Operation Barkhane mandated for counter-terrorism operations across the region.
Estimated 4,500 French troops are deployed, and focus on counter-terrorism operations in insurgent-hit Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, working alongside other international operations, including the FCG5S and the 14,000-strong MINUSMA United Nations stabilization mission based in Mali.
