On tour in Africa, French President Emmanuel Macron estimated on Sunday December 22 that the fight against jihadism in the Sahel was "at a turning point". He called on the countries of the region to define "more clearly the objectives".
"The coming weeks are absolutely decisive for the fight we are waging against terrorism. We are at a turning point in this war. We need to (...) redefine the objectives more clearly" at the Pau summit ( southwest of France) on January 13, President Macron said alongside his Nigerian counterpart Mahamadou Issoufou.
"We have to define much more clearly the military, political and development objectives for the next 6, 12 and 18 months," said Emmanuel Macron.
"I expect the same clarity from all the leaders"
"I am not there to stigmatize this or that (country)", he replied when he was asked about his sentence the day before in Abidjan where he had demanded "the same clarity from all the leaders".
"I see opposition movements, groups that denounce the French presence as a neo-colonial imperialist presence (....) I see in too many countries prospering without clear political condemnation of anti-French feelings I cannot accept to send our soldiers on the ground to countries where this request (of French presence) is not clearly accepted, "he continued.
"When he talks about clarification, President Macron is targeting IBK (Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the Malian president) and Kaboré (Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, the Burkinabè president)", a security source told AFP recently.
After a visit to Côte d'Ivoire where he notably marked the end of the CFA franc, the French president went to Niamey on Sunday, where he meditated before the graves of 71 Nigerien soldiers killed in December.
With AFP
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