Page 9 - ARUBA TODAY

A9
WORLD NEWS Thursday 14 december 2017

African anti-jihadi force gets $130 million at French meet

By SYLVIE CORBET groups, including one claim-
ELAINE GANLEY ing affiliation with the Islamic
Associated Press State group.
LA CELLE-SAINT-CLOUD, In recent months, local
France (AP) — A new Afri- security forces and the
can military force to coun- 12,000-strong United Nations
ter growing extremism in peacekeeping mission in Mali
the Sahel region should see have been prime targets. At-
victories “in the first half of tacks often occur in the bor-
2018,” France’s president said der regions of Mali, Burkina
Wednesday after hosting a Faso and Niger, where four
summit to boost support for U.S. soldiers were killed ear-
the five-nation effort. lier this year.
President Emmanuel Macron Besides the leaders of the
announced new pledges for five-nation force, delegations
the force known as the G5 representing Europe, the Af-
Sahel, one from Saudi Arabia rican Union and international
of $100 million and another organizations were in atten-
of $30 million from the Unit- dance Wednesday.
ed Arab Emirates, in a bid to German Chancellor Angela
speed up the full deployment Merkel stressed the urgency
of the military effort by Mali, of making the force fully op-
Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and erational. “Islamic extrem- The President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, left, sits with French President Emmanuel Macron
before talks at the Elysee Palace in Paris. President Francois Macron is convening presidents,
Mauritania. ism is propagating. We can’t princes and diplomats on Wednesday to breathe life into a young African military force with a
Nearly five years after France wait,” she said. The G5 force mission to counter the growing threat jihadi threat in the Sahel region but which is struggling to
intervened to rout Islamist is expected to grow into a come alive.
extremists in northern Mali, 5,000-strong army by March (Charles Platiau, Pool via AP)
then controlled by an al-Qa- but needs soldiers, training, with critical air, intelligence tacks every day.” The force sins” must be eradicated, he
ida affiliate, the threat has operational autonomy and and other support, Macron launched in Mali in July with said in July. Mali President
spread to neighboring coun- funding. Macron said he sees said, and “we will win victo- Macron present. He has taken Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on
tries in the volatile Sahel, it at full strength as planned. ries in the first half of 2018.” the lead in persuading part- Wednesday evoked the possi-
the sprawling, largely barren France’s 4,000-strong coun- “We need to win the war ners to help make it viable, bility that Islamic State group
zone south of the Sahara des- terterrorism force in the re- against terrorism in the Sahel arguing that the fate of the fighters fleeing a collapsed
ert. The growing extremism gion since 2014, known as zone and it’s in full swing,” Sahel region affects Europe. “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria
has also spawned new jihadi Barkhane, will help the G5 Macron said. “There are at- “Terrorists, thugs and assas- would turn up in the Sahel.q
With unity in peril, EU leaders tackle refugee quotas

By LORNE COOK perceived need for na- year. made significant political the EU failed the test, on all
Associated Press tional refugee quotas. So As hundreds of thousands inroads. counts,” he wrote.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European far, solidarity with front-line of Syrian refugees trekked “The migration crisis was a At the center of Europe’s
Union leaders will grapple nations Greece and Italy, northward from Greece kind of character test for migrant malaise are refu-
Thursday with one of the where the refugees land, in 2015, some EU nations the EU,” Roderick Parkes, gee quotas. In response to
most divisive issues ever to has been limited. A man- erected fences, launched senior analyst at the EU’s the arrival of more than 1
face the 28-nation bloc; datory quota scheme was police crackdowns and Institute for Security Studies, million migrants in 2015, EU
how to collectively share opposed mainly by eastern closed borders, forcing mi- wrote Wednesday. nations voted by a large
responsibility for the tens European nations — the grants onto their neighbors. It has tested the EU’s “ca- majority to share 160,000 of
of thousands of people ar- Czech Republic, Hungary, ID checks were reintro- pacity to lead in the field of those fleeing conflict or per-
riving on Europe’s southern Poland and Slovakia. duced in parts of Europe’s refugee reception, to seize secution to help ease the
shores in search of a better For Europe, the political passport-free travel area, the economic opportuni- burden on overwhelmed
life. crisis over migrants is ex- hampering trade, business ties of immigration and to Greece and Italy.
Ahead of an EU summit istential, despite the fact and tourism. share the burden borne by Hungary challenged the
in Brussels, fresh tensions that migrant arrivals have That fueled anti-immigrant Turkey, Lebanon or Kenya quotas at Europe’s top
have surfaced over the dropped dramatically this parties and the far-right by resettling refugees. And court but lost.q