French and West African troops have made gains against Islamist groups in the Sahel but the situation remains fragile with persistent attacks by the militants, French and Burkina Faso officials said ahead of a summit on Tuesday. The so-called G-5 Sahel nations include Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. The summit will assess recent gains and plan next steps after the countries agreed to bring their forces under one command structure six months ago. The multinational Takouba task force is an expanded group of special forces which would target militants and help train national special forces. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte could confirm Italian interest in the task force during the summit.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 01, 2020 07:07 UTC