International donors on Friday pledged 414 million euros ($510 million) to help five impoverished countries in West Africa's vast Sahel region set up a new counterterror force as a deadly jihadist threat grows. The 5,000-strong G5 Sahel force for Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger was seeking around 400 million euros for its mission along mostly desert borders, including near Libya — the main jumping-off point for thousands of African migrants bound for Italy. Underscoring the security threat, two members of a French counterterrorism force in Mali were killed Wednesday when their armored vehicle struck an explosive device. Brussels says political help and development assistance are vital in a region wracked by extreme poverty, harsh climate, food shortages and health crises. The EU has invested more than 8 billion euros in development aid in the Sahel for 2014-2020.

Source: ABC News February 23, 2018 08:49 UTC