Saudi Arabia, UAE pledge $130m for Sahel anti-terror force

PARIS: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates put forward $130 million Wednesday towards fighting jihadists in West Africa’s Sahel region, as France’s Emmanuel Macron hosted leaders to an effort to boost a fledgling five-nation military force. The force brings together troops from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger — some of the poorest countries in the world — and money had been a major obstacle to getting it off the ground. The $100 million (85 million euros) from oil-rich Riyadh and $30 million from the UAE bring the total pledged funding over the initial 250 million euros needed in the short term, a relief for Macron who had lobbied the Gulf and US for cash. “We must win the war against terrorism in the Sahel-Sahara region,” Macron told reporters.