France and allies officially set up new task force in Sahel

France and several of its European and African allies officially set up on Friday a new task force, called Takuba, made of European special forces that will fight terrorist groups in the West African region of Sahel alongside Malian and Nigerien armies.

After an audio conference, minister of Defence and representatives of 13 countries - Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Mali, the Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom - issued a political statement in which they committed to further efforts to overcome the "terrorist groups' resilience".