France urges EU to help in Africa fight

FRANCE complained yesterday that its European allies were not doing enough to help fight terrorism and instability in Africa and demanded a fairer sharing of the burden.

In the past few years France has intervened militarily against alQaeda-linked Islamists in Mali and to restore order in Central African Republic (CAR), but has struggled to rally support for European Union (EU) missions from partners wary of military involvement.

With Islamic State (IS) present in Libya and Boko Haram posing a threat to French-speaking countries in West Africa, Paris sees the militant threat in Africa growing.

French Defence Minister JeanYves le Drian shook up an EU defence ministers’ meeting in the Latvian capital with a public appeal for other European countries to make a greater commitment to security in Africa.

Following attacks in Paris, Brussels and Copenhagen there was no longer any real separation between internal and external security, Mr le Drian said.

“We must act both in our territories and in crisis theatres. Consequently ... the burden of European security must be fairly shared out. I called for solidarity.”

He said, for example, that the EU was having difficulty putting together 60 experts needed for a military training mission in CAR and complained that the EU has a 2,000-strong rapid reaction force, known as a battle group, on standby, but has never used it.

Mr le Drian said the EU was placing its faith in United Nations (UN)-led efforts to end the conflict in Libya and there had been no talk at the meeting of military intervention.

The increasing danger IS poses in Libya — close to Europe’s borders — became apparent on Sunday when it released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians.

A French diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Paris had been asking the EU diplomatic service for six months to prepare for a positive or negative outcome to the UN peace effort in Libya “and we have nothing on the table so far”.

He said there was now an immediate threat from the presence of terrorist groups in Libya “who have a clear target, which is Europe”.

France was not promoting a military option in Libya, but if the UN mediation succeeded, “we will need some strong follow-up, perhaps some military presence on the ground, and we have to prepare for that,” he said.

Saying Boko Haram was becoming “perhaps the main threat for security in Africa”, he said France was asking Britain to be “more proactive on the issue” and to work with neighbouring countries to contain the threat.

Troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon have been battling the Boko Haram militants.