France's Macron, West African leaders hold 'G5 Sahel summit' on fighting extremism

France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Monday held a 2-day G5 Sahel summit with leaders from West African countries, which included the head of state from Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, and Chad, as he discussed the fight against Islamic extremism in Africa’s Sahel region. French President suggested, that he would pull out the French troops deployed in the West African region, despite the UN’s appeals that the move will wreak havoc in the region due to several active militant groups in the African territory. In the virtual conference, the French President suggested that the deployment of nearly 5,100 French soldiers in five West African countries was, thus far, France’s largest military operation abroad, and that, he expected more EU countries to step forward. 

In the meeting, held at N’Djamena, Chad via teleconference, the French president cited that his country sent 600 additional troops last year to fight Islamic extremism in the region, but was now looking up to other nations including United Nations, the African Union, and the European Union under the regional five-country force launched in 2017 to collaborate for military assistance. Macron, under his revised “adjustment” plan, announced the success of his French forces against extremism, last year.  France, for over several years, has been at the forefront to fight the rebel terrorist groups linked to both al-Qaida and the Islamic State that gained control in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. French troops ramped up military operations against the jihadist groups, targeting al-Qaida’s hold in the region, a top French military official, under the condition of anonymity, told AP. 

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Infiltration of terrorists in West Africa

In an operation against terrorists in Burkina Faso and Coast of Ivory last year, France co-jointly conducted Operation Comoé conducted in the northeast of Ferkessédougou, capturing 38 suspected terrorists, and neutralizing eight, as French soldiers targeted Alidougou terrorist base south of Banfora, Burkina Faso. INTERPOL, furthermore, released the Biometric data from terrorist suspects arrested in joint operations to identify potential links with other terrorist attacks and suspects across the region, INTERPOL’s Counter-Terrorism Criminal Analysis team informed in a release. According to Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, the  Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and the FATF found increased infiltration of terrorists in West African countries as they received funding through trade, levies, and smuggling of arms and drugs in the region, and the reporting institutions in West Africa were found to have a weak capacity to identify the source of terror funding. 

[French President Emmanuel Macron watches Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani on a screen during a meeting via video-conference with leaders of the G5 Sahel as they attend a two-day summit in N'Djamena. Credit: AP]

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(Image Credit: AP)