French President Emmanuel Macron with Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita during the opening session of G5 Shel force summit in Bamako,on Sunday.Credit:AP
During Sunday's summit,leaders of the G5 Sahel bloc - Mali,Mauritania,Burkina Faso,Niger and Chad - formally established the new force,which will operate in coordination with French troops and MINUSMA,Mali's struggling UN peacekeeping mission.
Since taking office in May,Macron has thrown France's weight behind the plan,including through a UN resolution voicing support for the force.
"Every day we must combat terrorists,thugs,murderers whose names and faces we must forget,but whom we must steadfastly and with determination eradicate together,"said Macron at the summit in Mali's capital Bamako.
He said the force,which is expected to consist of around 5000 troops,needed to be fully operational by this autumn.