French army warns of IS takeover in Sahel

The French chief of staff, Gen Francois Lecointre, has said that the future of West Africa’s Sahel region hangs in the balance this coming year. 

The head of the French army says that if present chaos continues, the so-called Islamic State (IS) group could gain further foothold in the region. 

Gen Leconte predicted that military action alone would not defeat the surge of militant Islamism in the region and that a political solution would be required. He defended the presence of 4,500 French troops in the Sahel and affirmed that France would be re-upping its commitment towards fighting jihadists in the region. 

13 French soldiers were killed last month when their helicopters collided in Mali.

Those nations bearing the brunt of attacks by IS and al-Qaeda include Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania. Together they form the G5 Sahel and also operate a joint counter-insurgency force, supported by French troops, to fight the militants. 

The counter-insurgency force was launched four years ago, at a time when almost all attacks by Islamist militants were in Mali. Today, militant groups have spread out across West Africa, perpetrating a deadly attack against a military base in Niger last week, in which 71 Nigerien soldiers were killed. 

Photo credit: leral.net