NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - France's foreign minister said on Thursday that Paris backed efforts by West African states to boost security cooperation in their troubled Sahel region, including a plan to establish a 5,000-strong multinational force to take on Islamist fighters.
Speaking after a French soldier died in a clash with militants in Mali on Wednesday, Jean-Marc Ayrault said it was imperative that G5 Sahel states - Mali, Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger - build up their counter-terrorism capacity.
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