French soldiers were deployed for a decade to fight an Islamist insurgency in its former colonial territory of the Sahel region. Read more at straitstimes.com.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he was still waiting for Africa’s Sahel states to thank Paris for stopping them falling into the hands of militants and he dismissed suggestions his c

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed criticism regarding France's military withdrawal from Africa's Sahel region. During a foreign policy conference, he insisted that France's intervention in 2013 was pivotal in preventing the region's takeover by militants.

President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday faced an angry backlash from France's remaining allies in West Africa and accusations at home of showing a neo-colonialist attitude after lamenting that African countries "forgot to say thank you" for France's decade-long military deployment to fight an Islamist insurgency.

France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he was still waiting for Africa's Sahel states to thank Paris for stopping them falling into the hands of militants and he dismissed suggestions his country had been forced out of the region.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that the African Sahel states forgot to thank France for preventing their nations from falling under the control of militants. Macron stated that France had a relationship with its former colonies based on security.