West African leaders call for aid after Niger base attack

Five West African leaders have requested greater international help to combat Islamist militants, following the killing of 71 soldiers in Niger by the so-called Islamic State (IS).

The soldiers were buried on Friday inside a military base close to the capital Niamey. The leaders held a short prayer service at the base. 

The leaders hail from Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania, countries which are bearing the brunt of attacks by militants linked to IS and al-Qaeda. 

Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou said the militants had become “professionals in the art of war”.  Last week’s attack near the town of In Ages was described as the deadliest raid against the Nigerian military in living memory. 

Mr Issoufou urged the international community to help fight the surge of militant groups in West Africa, particularly after NATO’s ill-fated military intervention in Libya in 2011. 

"The demands we are making to the international community are justified. Firstly, because it is responsible for what is happening to us because of its disastrous decision to intervene in Libya.

"Next, because security is a public good, the people of the Sahel, our people, must not be alone in bearing the heavy cost of this war," he added.

The five countries which make up the G5 Sahel currently have a joint counter-insurgency force, supported by 4,500 French troops. It was launched in 2015 when attacks by Islamist militants were focused on Mali. Since then the area affected by the violence has grown and spread to neighbouring countries, with the regional force ill-equipped to counteract it. 

Photo credit: Chatham House