Sahel: Terrorism

(asked on 23rd October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of reports that Algerian and Sudanese Islamist jihadists are present in central and northern Mali where the joint G5 regional stabilisation force operates.


Answered by
Harriett Baldwin Portrait
Harriett Baldwin
This question was answered on 26th October 2018

The UK strongly supports the G5 Sahel Joint Force and condemns the attack against the Force's Headquarters in Sevare in June 2018. The UK has contributed 15.5% of the €100m of EU support to date for the Force, as well as £2m in bilateral funds. Since October 2012, there have been reports of significant numbers of foreign terrorists, including Algerian and Sudanese fighters, operating in Gao and Timbuktu. We assess that the G5 Sahel Joint Force is having a positive impact against the Islamist terrorist threat, evidenced by a number of effective joint operations since November 2017. The challenge is nevertheless significant and it is urgent that the Force becomes fully operational and the international community makes good on pledges of financial support for the G5 Sahel Joint Force.

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