NOUAKCHOTT — French and West African troops have made gains against Islamist groups in the Sahel but the situation remains fragile with persistent attacks by the militants, French and Burkina Faso officials said ahead of a summit on Tuesday. Political instability is also a source of concern as leaders of the group of five Sahel states meet French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Nouakchott and are joined by other EU leaders via video. The so-called G-5 Sahel nations include Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. The summit will assess recent gains and plan next steps after the countries agreed to bring their forces under one command structure six months ago. "The aim is to bring more international partners into a military capacity such as through the Takouba (special forces) task force by the end of 2020-2021 and an African Union force," a French official said.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 30, 2020 10:41 UTC