French president says 33 terrorists killed in Mali

DAKAR, Senegal

French Barkhane forces killed 33 terrorists, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday.

He announced the operation was conducted by French Barkhane forces in the central Mopti region of Mali and two Malian soldiers were rescued.

Macron remarks came during a trip to West Africa after he arrived in the Ivory Coast on Friday and met with President Alassane Ouattara before heading to a French military base.

The tour comes almost a year ahead of the Ivorian presidential election slated for October 2020.

Ivory Coast is not only home to a French military base but is the region’s economic powerhouse.

A historical partner with huge interest, France maintains 4,500 military personnel stationed throughout West and Central Africa where terrorists have carried out attacks in 2019 against troops in Mali and Niger, as well as extending into Burkina Faso.

Macron will travel Sunday to Niger's capital of Niamey where he will meet President Mahamadou Issoufou and make a stop at a Niger airbase where more than 70 soldiers were killed in a recent attack on Inates, are buried.

He will also pay tribute to all the Malian, Burkinabe and Nigerien victims of terrorism.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin