France to host G5 Sahel summit

President Macron of France will today welcome leaders from the G5 Sahel to the town of Pau, in southern France, to discuss the future security of the region.

The summit comes amid escalating violence from Islamic militants operating in the area, bringing together representatives from Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso.

Last week, 89 Nigerian soldiers were killed when their base was attacked, the highest number of soldiers killed in the country a single incident since fighting spilt over from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

Operation Barkhane, the combat helicopter regiment that spearheads France’s anti-terrorism efforts in the Sahel region, is headquartered in the town of Pau.

France has suffered a number of casualties since its troops deployed to region, most notably a helicopter crash killing 13 soldiers in Mali in November.

Photo credit: Baba Ahmed