- Title: French military presence in the Sahel needs clarification, Macron says
- Date: 22nd December 2019
- Summary: ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF MACRON AND ISSOUFOU INSPECTING GUARDS OF HONOUR
- Embargoed: 5th January 2020 20:58
- Keywords: barkhane emmanuel macron france niger soldiers terrorists
- Location: NIAMEY, NIGER
- City: NIAMEY, NIGER
- Country: Niger
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA002BB2564N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday (December 22) in Niamey that military and political targets of the French military in the region needed to be clarified by the Sahel states.
Macron stopped in Niger on his way back from Ivory Coast to pay homage to the 71 soldiers killed on December 10 in an attack on a military camp in Niger near the border with Mali, claimed by Islamic State.
France, the former colonial power in a number of West African countries, has more than 4,000 soldiers in the region in its counter-terrorism taskforce Operation Barkhane. The United Nations has a 13,000-strong peacekeeping operation in Mali.
French officials have expressed frustration that some countries in the region have not done more to curb criticism of French operations. Paris is also vexed that some countries have not fully implemented deals to bring more stability to areas of the Sahel with little law and order.
(Production: Christophe Van Der Perre) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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