Leaders of the G5 Sahel nations held summit talks in Niamey Sunday, after the death last week of 71 Niger soldiers in a jihadist attack, calling for closer cooperation and international support in the battle against the Islamist threat.
Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the regional G5 group, called for a minute’s silence for the victims of last Tuesday’s attack at a military camp in Inates, near the Mali border.
“These endless attacks carried out by terrorist groups in our region remind us not only of the gravity of the situation, but also the urgency for us to work more closely together,” Kabore said.
Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou, the summit host, added: “The terrorist threat against the Sahel countries is getting worse.”
The attacks were aimed not just at military targets but increasingly “civilian populations, notably traditional local leaders”, he said.
In their final declaration, the five heads of state vowed to “go all out to improve coordination between the joint force, national forces and the international allies.”
Source: Guardian Newspaper
