Foreign forces from French and European special forces deployed from Mali to improve security near the country’s border will be received by Niger Republic. Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum confirmed this in a briefing.
Bazoum’s comments come a day after France and foreign forces said they would begin pulling soldiers from Mali, where they were fighting armed groups in the western Sahel region of Africa.
“Our goal is for our border with Mali to be secure. “This area will be even more infested and the terrorist groups will strengthen. We know that they are destined to extend their influence,” Bazoum said.
The President added that he expected threats from the armed groups to rise in the area following the departure of the forces.
About 2,400 French troops and 900 special forces from the French-led Takuba task force are likely to leave Mali in the next months as part of the forces deployed in Mali to combat organisations affiliated to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
Armed groups in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have killed hundreds of people, displaced millions, and have left several communities in the West African Sahel region ungovernable