NIAMEY: French President Emmanuel Macron visited and dined with soldiers stationed in Niger who are fighting against extremism in the Sahel, reassuring them that France would not abandon the region to extremists.
“The Sahel is a priority. It’s that which plays a part in the future of the African continent, but equally and without doubt, a part of our future. We must not leave the Sahel in the hands of terrorists,” he said late Friday amid 500 soldiers with Operation Barkhane at Niger’s airport in Niamey, the capital.
In a show of support for French troops based in Niger, he brought with him the chef from the Elysee presidential palace, who oversaw a meal for the French troops in addition to American, Canadian and German forces.
Macron is visiting Niger Friday and Saturday, wanting to encourage Niger’s growing military efforts to fight terrorism in West Africa. France has thousands of troops there in its largest overseas military operation and wants African forces to take a more prominent role.
He encouraged the soldiers to redouble vigilance and hold onto courage, while also emphasizing that the military response is not the only answer to defeating extremists such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram in the region.
“We need to better coordinate our defense and development efforts and our diplomatic efforts. This is the heart of the strategy we are deploying,” he said, calling the combined approach indispensable to address the longterm root of the conflict.
“We must show him that we are here, and that we are gaining ground again and we must restore the confidence of our partner armies by providing them with support to redeploy to the region.”
Macron supported the newly formed G-5 Sahel force that will work alongside the operation and is made up of African soldiers from Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso. A coordinated strategy across countries is needed, he said.
Macron thanked the soldiers for their dedication and paid tribute to those who have fallen.
The French president on Saturday will meeting with President Mahamadou Issoufou, and is expected to discuss migrant trafficking through the area.
Macron reassures soldiers fighting in Niger
Macron reassures soldiers fighting in Niger
EU should consider forming combined military force: defense chief
- Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” that could eventually replace US forces
- Trump has heightened fears among NATO allies over Washington’s reliability by insisting he wants to take over Greenland
BRUSSELS: EU countries should weigh whether to set up a combined military force that could eventually replace US troops in Europe, the bloc’s defense chief said Sunday.
EU defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” as a possible option to better protect the continent.
“How will we replace the 100,000-strong American standing military force, which is the back-bone military force in Europe?” he asked in a speech in Sweden.
The suggestion comes as US President Donald Trump has heightened fears among NATO allies over Washington’s reliability by insisting he wants to take over Greenland.
Worries over Trump’s commitment to Europe have already spurred countries to step up efforts to bolster their militaries in the face of the threat posed by Russia.
Ideas about establishing a central European army have floated around for years but have largely failed to gain traction as nations are wary of relinquishing control over their militaries.
The US has pushed its European allies to increasingly take over responsibility for their own security, and raised the prospect it could shift forces from Europe to focus on China.
“In such times, we should not run away from the most pressing questions on our institutional defense readiness,” said Kubilius, a former Lithuanian prime minister.
In his speech Kubilius also advocated for the creation of a “European Security Council” of key powers — including potentially Britain — that could help the continent take decisions over its own defense quicker.
“The European Security Council could be composed of key permanent members, along with several rotational members,” he said.
“In total around 10-12 members, with the task to discuss the most important issues in defense.”
He said the first focus of such a body should be trying to change the dynamics in the war in Ukraine to ensure that Kyiv does not end up losing.
“We need to have a clear answer — how is the EU going to change that scenario?,” he said.
“This is the reason why we need to have a European Security Council now!“
