In a joint communique, they stated that they maintain the will to continue their support to the Sahel region, where thousands of foreign soldiers have been deployed in recent years on anti-terrorist missions.

French President Emmanuel Macron organized a mini-summit of heads of State on Wednesday evening to address the issue, amid tensions with Mali.

France states that the ruling military junta degrades the situation, and accuses it of moving away from the democratic order, which caused that the French ambassador were expelled from Mali.

France sent troops to the African nation in 2013 to stop a jihadist offensive, and activated the Operation Barkhane in 2014, with more than 4,000 troops deployed in the Sahel region, some 2,400 of which are in Mali.

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