In agreement with the Nigerian President, Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday evening, the postponement of the summit on the Sahel, scheduled for December 16, early 2020. This decision was made following the jihadist attack that struck a camp military, Tuesday, in Niger.
The French head of state was to meet on Monday, December 16, in Pau, in the south-west of France, the leaders of G5 Sahel - Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad -, while Paris reconsider the modalities of its intervention in the Sahel after the death of 13 French soldiers in a helicopter crash in Mali.
Seventy-one dead
An attack by several hundred jihadist fighters on Tuesday against a military camp in Niger, near the border with Mali, left 71 soldiers dead, a spokesman for the Nigerien army said on Wednesday.
Emmanuel Macron expressed "his support and solidarity" to his Nigerian counterpart following the attack that has struck heavily the Nigerian army in the region of Inates, said the French presidency in a statement. This assessment is the heaviest suffered by the Nigerien army since the beginning of the terrorist attacks in the country in 2015.
Emmanuel Macron has sent on the spot the Chief of Staff of the Armies who will meet President Issoufou, says the Elysee.
"The two presidents have signaled their determination to remain united in the face of the threat of terrorist groups and to redefine together, in the coming weeks, the political and operational framework to act for the security of the people and states of the Sahel," he said. she in the release.
"Clarification" on the French military presence
Emmanuel Macron announced the summit on December 4, after the NATO summit, to clarify their position on the French military presence in the Sahel, increasingly challenged by their public opinions.
He expects the five African heads of state to publicly "assume" the fact that French soldiers are in the Sahel at the request of the countries concerned, and not for "neocolonial purposes". Otherwise, he said, he would draw all the consequences.
Wednesday, the Elysee said that all options were on the table, including a withdrawal of 4,500 men French troops of the force Barkhane, which for four years fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel.
France has asked its European partners to increase their support, while the jihadists are multiplying deadly actions in the region, particularly in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. This topic will be discussed at the European summit on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 December.
Paris is also setting up an operation called "Tacouba", bringing together special forces from several European countries, to provide reinforcements to the Malian army, struggling with the thrust of jihadist attacks. Already eight countries have responded to the call of France, said the Elysee Wednesday.
With AFP and Reuters
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