Africa, Europe to bolster Sahel anti-terror force

France's Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday hosted a group of African and European leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, to drum up support for a new counterterrorism force in the terror-plagued Sahel.

Two years in the planning, the force brings together troops from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger in a desert region the size of Europe.

Former colonial power France is currently leading counterterrorism operations there through its 4,000-strong Barkhane force, but is keen to share the burden as its military is engaged on various fronts.

The ambitious goal is to have 5,000 local troops operational by mid-2018, wresting back border areas from extremists including a local Al-Qaeda affiliate.

But Macron -- who has had a busy week of diplomacy after a climate summit on Tuesday -- has expressed frustration at delays, with the first mission only taking place last month in the volatile border zone between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

"It's an initiative that's getting more powerful, but speed is a problem," French Defense Minister Florence Parly told RFI radio.

"We have to go faster," she said. "The objective is to be able to move forward faster on financing and the military structure."

The five Sahel countries are among the poorest in the world, and funding will be high on the agenda as their presidents join Macron in Celle-Saint-Cloud outside Paris.

SS