France and five African countries to deploy 5,000 more troops to confront the threat from armed groups.

Emmanuel Macron has been president of France for just two months - and has already made his second visit to Mali, where French troops and UN peacekeepers are fighting armed groups.

Macron said the strategy is not working. He wants an African force to help confront what he calls "Islamic terrorism".

He is calling for countries in the Sahel region of northwest Africa to contribute 5,000 soldiers.

Mali hosted leaders from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger who are promising troops to confront armed groups at home.

They will be tasked with wiping out fighters Macron describes as "terrorists, thugs and murderers".

But more money is needed to train and equip the soldiers in hostile territory.



Will the new regional force work? And is a bigger military presence the answer to the threat from al-Qaeda and others?

Presenter: Hazem Sika

Guests:

Marie-Roger Biloa - Editor of Africa International

Adama Gaye - Former director of information for ECOWAS

Tiebile Drame - Former foreign minister of Mali

Source: Al Jazeera News