Chad president Idriss Deby on Wednesday urged the European Union to seek a deal with countries across Africa’s desert Sahel region if it wants to curb the influx of migrants.
“We can only resolve the issue if we involve the G5 frontline states –Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mali and Niger– not through country by country agreements,” President Idriss Deby said in Germany where he met Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.
“Working with the G5 countries would also enable progress on issues such as drug and human smuggling and terrorism in the remote deserts of the Sahel, which host several jihadist groups,” he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this week during an African tour said Germany wants to strengthen its cooperation with Mali, Niger and Ethiopia to improve development in these countries to help fight against extremism, and illegal migration.
Both Niger and Mali face the challenge of international terrorism. Terror networks, such as al Qaeda, finance their activities with revenue from kidnappings and drug smuggling in the Sahara.
Germany recorded the arrival of over 890,000 migrants last year. Most of these refugees are from the war-ravaged countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, while many also fled economic hardships across the African continent.