Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Sunday said he would propose to parliament the transferal of some of the country’s troops deployed in Iraq to Niger to help in the fight against terrorism and people smuggling.
The PM said Italy’s 1,400-strong military presence in Iraq could now be reduced following victories against jihadist militants, with the troops being stationed in the Sahel region of West Africa.
“We have to continue to work, concentrating our attention and energies on the threat of people trafficking and terrorism in the Sahel,” Reuters quotes him to have said aboard the Italian ship Etna used in the European Union’s “Sophia” operation to counter people smuggling in the Mediterranean.
“For this reason, part of our forces in Iraq will be deployed to Niger in coming months – this is the proposal the government will make to parliament,” he added.
Gentiloni however did not specify how many of the troops would be sent to Niger.
French President Emmanuel Macron has thrown his weight behind a French-backed West African force known as the G5 Sahel, which includes the armies of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad, which was set up in October to tackle Islamist militants.
To give the force a boost, he held a Paris summit on December 13 attended by the leaders of the five participating countries, Germany and Italy as well as Saudi and Emirati ministers.
