Macron Says France to Provide Combat Support for Sahel Force
- France pledges tactical vehicles, money for five-nation unit
- Faster implentation needed for Mali peace accord, Macron says
Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (meets with French President Emmanuel Macron on July 2.
Photographer: Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
France has pledged combat support and money for a West African force gearing up to fight a surge in Islamist militant attacks, even as leaders admitted full funding isn’t yet secured.
French President Emmanuel Macron offered the aid at a meeting in Bamako, Mali’s capital, on Sunday with the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, whose governments each plan to provide a battalion of 750 soldiers for the unit. The main area of operation will be the border area of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where French troops this year killed at least 20 suspected militants hiding in a forest.