The first troops from a 100-member British contingent to be deployed alongside French counter-terrorism forces in West Africa have arrived in the region along with heavy-lift helicopters, the French military said Thursday.
"The first troops from the British Chinook deployment, which will comprise three heavy transport helicopters and will be deployed in Gao (northern Mali) have arrived," armed forces spokesman Colonel Patrik Steiger said. The advance party from a contingent that will be in place by the end of the summer arrived in Niamey, the capital of Niger, Mali's neighbour to the east, Steiger added.
In January, Prime Minister Theresa May promised French President Emmanuel Macron that Britain would step up its support for France's Barkhane mission, which has been pursuing jihadist groups across the arid Sahel region since 2014.
May said that although Britain was preparing to leave the EU, "this does not mean that the UK is leaving Europe," stressing Britain's commitment to its cooperation with France in the area of defence.