DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s new prime minister, who was freed from jail weeks before the presidential election earlier this year and propelled his party to victory, has criticized the French military presence in the West African country. Sonko was speaking late Thursday at an event held jointly with the French far-left politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the capital, Dakar. “I want to reiterate Senegal’s desire for self-determination, which is incompatible with the long-term presence of foreign military bases in Senegal,” Sonko said. Following coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, all three nations have expelled French troops and turned to Russia instead for help fighting yearslong insurgencies there. The three nations also formed their own alliance of Sahel states, causing a split within the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS.

Source: Ethiopian News May 17, 2024 19:09 UTC