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"Every day we must combat terrorists, thugs, murderers (...) who we must steadfastly and with determination eradicate together," Macron said.
On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron, in his second visit to Mali since taking office in May, met with his counterpart, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, at a security summit in Bamako. While speaking at the event Macron noted that he had come to the region to garner support to “wipe out Islamist militants in the volatile Sahel region.”
"Every day we must combat terrorists, thugs, murderers (...) who we must steadfastly and with determination eradicate together," Macron said.
Reuters reported that the meeting was attended by leaders of the G5 Sahel, (Mali, Burkina Faso, Muritania, Niger and Chad) all of whom are expected to launch a new multi-national force aimed at combating al-Qaida, Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups in the immense arid region.
Responding to French newspaper Le Monde, French Foreign Minister, Yves Le Drian, stated, “this force is first going to secure the borders, particularly in the areas where terrorist groups have developed."
He explained that accompanying the new G5 military detail would be a priority for Operation Barkhane – France’s ongoing Chad-based anti-jihad mission for the region.
The joint initiative, which would entail the deployment of 5,000 regional troops, has been fervently supported by Macron. While the EU has agreed to contribute roughly US$57 million to the military force, Macron has sought additional support from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States.
In 2013, some 5,100 French troops led Operation Serval to oust Islamic militants from the north of Mali.
However, France's historic, colonial role in the West African region, have been criticized as undermining stability and sovereignty of countries in the region.
When Sekou Toure, the first President of Guinea, rallied against colonial rule in 1958, the French counterattacked by “taking all their property and destroying anything that which could not be moved: schools, nurseries, public administration buildings were crumbled; cars, books, medicine, research institute instruments, tractors were crushed and sabotaged; horses, cows in the farms were killed, and food in warehouses were burned or poisoned.”
France has also been accused of orchestrating violent coups against Sylvanus Olympio (Togo), David Dacko (Central African Republic), Maurice Yameogo (Republic of Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso), Hubert Mago (Benin).
Also, in 2015, an investigative magistrate from a military tribunal began an official probe into the 1987 assassination of former Burkina Faso President, Thomas Sankara. The judge, according to Quartz, has requested that France declassify military files on Sankara's killing to determine whether France “played a role” in the assassination. The request, to date, has gone ignored.
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According to Serge Michailof, a researcher at the Paris-based IRIS Institute, scoffed at the EU's promise of financial support for a new military force in the Sahel. Considering the 28 member states' “deep pockets,” he said the US$57 million dollar budget is a “joke.”
"This force is going to cost $300-400 million (262-350 million euros) at the very least," he told AFP.
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