La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France (dpa) - French President Emmanuel Macron was hosting five countries from the Sahel region to the south of Africa‘s Sahara desert in Paris on Wednesday to discuss the fight against terrorism.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other international partners were expected to join the discussions in a castle in the south-western Paris suburb of La Celle-Saint-Cloud later in the day.Macron planned to meet first in a smaller group with his counterparts from Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.The so-called Group of Five (G5) Sahel countries came together in 2014 to form a common military force to battle Islamist rebels, terrorist militias and organized crime in their region.Paris and Berlin have helped to set up the Sahel G5 force.US soldiers are also active in the region. Four US soldiers were killed in Niger in October when they were ambushed by Islamist fighters.Merkel and Macron are also expected to discuss an upcoming EU summit in Brussels which starts on Thursday, diplomats said.
