UPDATE - France To Send More Forces To Combat Terrorists In Africa, Macron Says

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2020) French President Emmanuel Macron says his country will commit an additional 220 military servicemen to take part in Operation Barkhane, which aims to fight jihadist groups in Africa's Sahel region.

"We have no choice. We need results," Macron said at a Monday press conference, held after his meeting with the leaders of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Chad in the southwestern French city of Pau.

Macron added that he hoped for continued US involvement in the fight against terrorists in the Sahel.

In a joint statement released after the Monday summit, leaders of the G5 Sahel group said a new framework of military cooperation would be created, dubbed "Coalition for the Sahel." Under this new framework, France will continue its Operation Barkhane.

"We are putting in place a military coalition between operation Barkhane and the joint force of the G5 Sahel and we will concentrate our efforts on this zone. In addition, I have decided to deploy additional forces to the area, 220 troops to support this new dynamic, to support the forces already there on the ground," Macron told reporters on Monday.

In August 2014, Operation Barkhane was launched by France, Mali, Burkina Faso and a number of other regional countries to combat various militant groups active in the Sahel region in Africa.

According to the French Defense Ministry, there are currently 4,500 French troops deployed in Africa as part of Operation Barkhane.