PARIS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Five West African states and France agreed on Monday to unite their forces in a "Coalition for the Sahel" to fight extremist insurgents in the Sahel region and France will send an additional 220 soldiers to reinforce its military presence there.
In a joint statement, presidents of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger (collectively referred to as the "Sahel G5") and France said they would focus their efforts against Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and urged the United States to continue its logistical support for their forces.
"This new framework will take the form and name of a 'Coalition for the Sahel', bringing together the countries of the G5 Sahel, France -- through Operation Barkhane," the statement said.
In the afternoon, Mali's Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Burkina Faso's Roch Marc Christian Kabore, Niger's Mahamadou Issoufou, Mauritania's Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Chad's Idriss Deby joined French President Emmanuel Macron for a security meeting in the southwestern French town of Pau.
"I have decided to engage additional combat capabilities -- 220 soldiers will reinforce Barkhane's troops," said Macron after the summit. "We have no choice. We need results."
Some 4,500 French troops started Barkhane Operation in 2014 in Sahel to help these countries maintain control of their territory while also preventing the region from becoming a safe-haven for Islamist groups. U.S. troops provide logistical support to the operation.
With the Pau meeting, Macron hoped to legitimize the French military presence and mobilize more European commitment in Sahel, said BFM TV.
