Issued on: 27/01/2020 – 20:26Modified: 27/01/2020 – 20:26
French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly warned Monday that expected cuts to the Pentagon's African operations would hamper efforts against jihadist groups, especially in the Sahel region.
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But US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper made clear that the United States was prepared to reduce its global military footprint and that African operations could be affected—while giving no details about how severely.
“US support is critical to our operations, and its reduction would severely limit our effectiveness in our operations against terrorists,” Parly said in a joint news conference with Esper in Washington.
“Our friends in the Sahel are in a situation where our assistance is critical. And I have expressed the hope of both the United States and France will keep on supporting them,” she added.
Esper has launched a review of the US military footprint around the world and is expected to reduce the presence of US forces in West Africa, where they have partnered with the French in battling a rise in Islamic extremist groups in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and other countries.
The US Defense Department wants to focus its forces on what it sees as priority threats, starting with China and Russia.
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