French Minister of Armies in Niger to boost the strength of G5 Sahel

The French Minister of Armies in Niger to boost the strength of the G5 Sahel

Niamey – The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, met Thursday in Niger with her Nigerian counterpart, Kalla Moutari and President Mahamadou Issoufou, for " Strengthening the operational dynamics of the G5 Sahel anti-Jihadist force

For her seventh trip to the region, Ms. Parly visited the command post of the "spindle center" of the joint military force in Niamey. She also went to Ouallam, 100 kilometers north of the Nigerian capital, to visit French troops of the anti-Jihadist operation Barkhane, who support those of G5 Sahel.

Niger currently holds the presidency of the G5 Sahel, a group of five countries (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania) which has formed a joint military force to fight jihadist groups in the region.

"Since the beginning of the year, 120 jihadists have been neutralized, 120 of whom some are some of the most influential and dangerous leaders," said Ms. Parly after her meeting with President Issoufou.

"Building a five-country joint force from scratch is a very big job, and I have to tell you that few countries have managed to do as much as the five G5 Sahel countries have done in the past. space of a few months, "said Mrs. Parly, while the beginnings of the force are difficult.

In a year the joint force led, with the direct and logistical support of France, a handful of operations , despite which several jihadist attacks At the end of June, Mali and Niger, the headquarters of the G5 Sahel force in Sévaré, in central Mali, were hit by slaughterhouses.

"The beginnings were relatively difficult because the armies of the G5 Sahel are armies from countries that are relatively poor, so that do not have the technological means, our material resources, our training, "said General Bruno Guibert, commander of the force Barkhane.

Additional resources must be allocated to Barkhane in 2019: helicopters, drones, missiles and armored vehicles, according to the French Ministry of the Armies

Moreover, in the north-east of Mali, near the Nigerian border, a clash between armed groups involved in the peace and jihadists killed a dozen dead on Wednesday, according to both sides.

In a statement, the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA, from the former rebellion Tuareg dominant) and the Group d at Tuareg Imghad and Allies (Gatia, pro-Bamako) say they have had a "hung thugs" patrol, alluding to the jihadists who have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group. They report "nine dead on the enemy side" and three in their ranks.

For its part, this jihadist group that calls itself "Islamic State in the Great Sahara" (EIGS) in a short message sent to the AFP claimed to have "killed eight Gatia fighters" on Wednesday and recovered "a lot of weapons" during an "ambush near Ansongo"

A foreign security source in the Gao region confirmed to the AFP the hanging, pointing out that "balance sheets are contradictory".

(© AFP / 19 July 2018 23h29) <! –

(AFP / 20.07.2018 01:31)
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