France will deploy 600 more soldiers in the fight against Islamist militants in the Sahel region, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said. According to Parly, the reinforcements would mostly be sent to the area between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. France already has around 4,500 combat troops in West Africa, where it launched a military intervention 7 years ago. Early January, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted in the southwestern French city of Pau heads of state of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania, forming the G5 group. A peace deal was signed in 2015 but was never completely implemented and new armed groups emerged and expanded to central Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 03, 2020 16:52 UTC