U.S., Saudi, UAE, pledge $190m to fight insurgency in Africa

The U.S., Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) have pledged 190 million dollars
to five countries in Africa’s Sahel region to
strengthen regional security forces in the fight
against terrorism.
The pledges came during special conference
hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron
outside Paris on Wednesday to discuss the fight
against terrorism with the presidents of Burkina
Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.
The so-called Group of Five (G5) Sahel countries
came together in 2014 to form a common military
force to battle Islamist rebels, terrorist militias
and organised crime in their region.
The Sahel G5 force got a financial boost from the
pledges of 100 million dollars from the Saudis, 30
million from the UAE, and 60 million from the U.S.
The EU had previously announced a pledge of 50
million euros (59 million dollars). Macron did not
give a total amount for aid pledged.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a
swift start to German and international aid during
the special talks, held in a castle in the south-
western Paris suburb of La Celle-Saint-Cloud.
“Here we are dealing with an urgent task. Islamist
terrorism is spreading. We cannot wait; we must
instead, as quickly as possible, begin to lead this
fight,’’ Merkel said.
Macrons said the force’s establishment would be
accelerated and include at least 5,000 troops.
‘`We must win the battle against terrorism and
terrorist-jihadism in the Sahel,” he said, adding
that the first victories of the efforts must occur in
the first half of 2018.
“The Sahel coalition is born,” Italian Prime
Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, said.