Sahel summit agrees need to intensify campaign against jihadists

French President Emmanuel Macron listens as Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani speaks during the G5 Sahel summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania June 30, 2020. Ludovic Marin /Pool via REUTERS

NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - International and regional powers agreed at talks on Tuesday to intensify a military campaign against Islamist militants in the West African Sahel region, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying victory over the jihadists was within grasp.

Militant attacks in the Sahel have increased over the last two years, especially in the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali known as Liptako-Gourma, where local authorities have been overrun.