West African leaders pledge $1 bln to fight Islamist threat

West African leaders have pledged $1 billion to combat the spiraling threat of Islamist militancy in the region, the head of the regional ECOWAS bloc said on Saturday. Groups with links to Islamic State have strengthened their foothold across the arid Sahel region this year, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking local ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.  

ECOWAS President said the commission was pledging $1 billion to finance the joint forces and intelligence gathering to counter the rising violence and fight jihadists that have led to three million people being displaced and a 60% increase this year in the number of people facing food insecurity. The ECOWAS commission also called on the United Nations to strengthen its MINUSMA peacekeeping mission, which has been based in Mali since 2013.