Macron in Mali on antiterror mission

– French President Emmanuel Macron is due in Mali tomorrow to consolidate Western backing for a regional anti-jihadist force as France beefs up its counterterror operations in the area.

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 as Islamist attacks rise. Based in Mali, the 5 000-strong G5 Sahel force will bolster the 12 000 UN peacekeepers and France’s own 4 000-strong military operation operating in the region.

Macron will attend a summit tomorrow with the leaders of the African nations involved, “marking a new step” as the force is formally launched, a source in the French presidency said. – AFP