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| Africa Subsaharan |
| West African and French leaders launch Sahel force |
| 2017-07-03 |
| [Al Jazeera] Five African countries have launched a new multinational force to fight armed groups in the Sahel region, which France's President Emmanuel Macron told a summit in Mali should be fully operational "in a matter of weeks". The new regional anti-terror force is set to include as many as 5,000 soldiers, with one battalion from each of the so-called G5 Sahel countries: Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad. "Our enemies are cowards, but they have determination. They want to destroy us," Macron said on Sunday, in a regional summit with the G5-Sahel leaders in the Malian capital, Bamako. France's president said his country would contribute $9m to the new force this year. He also mentioned a contribution of 70 vehicles, without saying whether that was included in the sum. |
| Posted by:Fred |