EU to double funding for Sahel force

The G5 Sahel force needs €400m to be able to meet demands of its western backers

The European Union will double its funding for a multinational military operation in West Africa’s Sahel region to counter Islamist insurgencies, the EU’s top diplomat said yesterday, part of a broader effort to stop migrants and militants.

At a donor conference of about 50 countries including the US, Japan and Norway, France looked set to win enough backing to allow the new regional force to be fully operational later this year.

“This is not about charity, this is a partnership,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters, promising a doubling of EU funding to €100 million (Dh540 million) for the G5 Sahel force, made up of troops from Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.

The G5 Sahel force needs more than €400 million to be able to meet the demands of its Western backers, up from the €250 million it has now.

Evoking the desperation young people feel in the impoverished Sahel, Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou said many had just two options in life: to die in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe or to die at the hands of militants.

France, which has more than 4,000 troops in the region, hoped to reach at least €300 million in military aid yesterday to overcome financing problems for the force that was first proposed in 2014.

So far, the US has pledged €60 million to support it. Another €100m has been pledged by Saudi Arabia, €30m from the UAE and €40m on a bilateral basis by EU member states, separate from the EU.