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He came to reaffirm the support of France. French President Emmanuel Macron held talks in Nouakchott on Monday with leaders of the G5 Sahel joint force, on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) summit that ended the same day, overshadowed by jihadist attacks in Sahel countries
Each confronted with the terrorist threat, these 5 African leaders decided to join forces. It's the G5 Sahel. As today, and for a year now, France is at their side with one goal: to eradicate terrorism. We will win this battle together. pic.twitter.com/6MCX1T2mrP
– Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 2, 2018
"Our wish is to eradicate terrorism throughout the region" by "security coordination" between the joint G5 Sahel countries (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania), the French operation Barkhane and the UN mission in Mali, the Minusma, said the French president. These talks took place after several deadly attacks, which have again hit Mali and Niger since Friday, killing 25.
"Stalking Terrorists"
Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, who promised Saturday that track down the terrorists to their last entrenchments, "said Monday on France 24 that the" armed forces (Malian) have recovered the hair of the beast. " "We will not let Mali go to the water (…). In the face of the jihadist threat, if the Sahel barrier were to yield, the shores of the Mediterranean would be overwhelmed, "he said.
This fight is" military in the short term "but" in the long term it is is the economic and social development that is essential because it is on the soil of poverty that terrorism develops, "said Mahamadou Issoufou, the president of Niger
The mini-summit of the G5 Sahel joint force held at the new G5 Sahel Defense College, on the outskirts of Nouakchott
"Do not Lower Arms"
"These are attacks that should not bring us down", said Sunday to AFP Mouhamadou Issoufou, who chairs the G5 Sahel. Emmanuel Macron, who was due to travel to Nigeria on Tuesday, held talks with his G5 Sahel counterparts on the slow rise of the joint force set up to fight against jihadists and called in the end to take over the force. French Barkhane deployed particularly in northern Mali
France supports this project, seeing it as a possible model of ownership by African states of their own security. But its implementation is currently marked by funding problems and accusations of human rights violations by soldiers of the joint force. Before the opening of the summit on Sunday, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz called for more efficiency in the anti-jihadist struggle: "There are still many flaws" in security that must be "corrected."
Zlec and Francophonie
Parallel to security issues related to the crises on the continent, including those in the DRC, Western Sahara, the civil war in South Sudan, the AU leaders discussed the free trade area Mainland (Zlec), which could represent a market of more than 1.2 billion people
44 countries out of 55 had signed in March in Kigali the agreement on the Zlec. Five new countries signed on Sunday: South Africa, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Lesotho and Burundi. Six countries have ratified the agreement, which will come into force when 22 have done so.
"This is a significant step forward. We have to make significant progress towards Africa, which we call our best wishes, "AU Chairman Paul Kagame said after the summit. In addition, AU leaders officially decided to support Rwanda's bid to lead La Francophonie.
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