Macron in Mali for anti-jihadi force summit

Bamako – French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Mali yesterday to consolidate Western backing for a regional anti-jihadist force, with France urging greater support for the Sahel region amid mounting insecurity.

The so-called G5 Sahel countries just south of the Sahara – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – have pledged to fight jihadists on their own soil with instability and Islamist attacks on the rise.

Macron is joining the heads of state of these nations in Bamako for a special sum- mit where France’s full support for the force will be announced, with a focus expected on providing equipment.

With its base in Sevare, cen- tral Mali, the 5 000-strong G5 Sahel force aims to bolster the 12 000 UN peacekeepers and France’s own 4 000-strong military operation in the region. He is also expected to make the case for extra backing from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the US, which already has a drone base in Niger, beyond a pledge of €50 million (R747 055 344) by the European Union. Serge Michailof, a researcher at the Paris-based Iris institute, described the EU contribution as “a joke”, given its “very deep pockets”.

EU contribution [against Islamic extremists in Mali] is a joke, given its very deep pockets.

Serge Michailof Researcher at Paris’ Iris institute