Sahel states to set up joint counter-terrorism force

Five countries in Africa’s Sahel region have agreed to set up a joint counter-terrorism force to tackle the jihadist threat. Leaders from Mali, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania made the announcement at a summit in Bamako. Chad’s President Idriss Deby said the members of the G5 group were on the “frontline against terrorism”. Their […]

Five countries in Africa’s Sahel region have agreed to set up a joint counter-terrorism force to tackle the jihadist threat.
Leaders from Mali, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania made the announcement at a summit in Bamako. Chad’s President Idriss Deby said the members of the G5 group were on the “frontline against terrorism”.
Their meeting followed an attack last month near the Malian city of Gao which killed nearly 80 people. The suicide bombing was the worst attack in the region for years. Few details were given about the proposed force’s size or where it would be based.