(MENAFN- Arab Times) President Francois Hollande said on Monday that French air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria would be necessary. "We are part of the coalition in Iraq (against Islamic State)," Hollande said in a news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. "We started reconnaissance flights (in Syria) to enable us to consider air strikes if they were necessary and they will be necessary in Syria." France until now had only taken part in air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq because it feared such action against the group in Syria could strengthen Syrian President Bashar al- Assad.
Paris has also been heavily engaged in the fight against al-Qaeda militants in West Africa and has been providing logistical support and intelligence to Nigeria and neighbouring states combating Boko Haram militants. "Boko Haram is linked to Daesh. It receives aid and support from this group. The fight against Boko Haram is the fight against Daesh," Hollande said, referring to the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "It is no longer possible to distinguish terrorism from regions. It's the same terrorism inspired by the same death ideology," he said. Hollande last week said Paris was beginning flights over Syria because of the expansion of Islamic State over the last year and the threat its militants could have on French interests at home and abroad. Paris was ready to join air strikes on Assad's forces in Syria in 2013 before US President Barack Obama backed off the plan.
Hollande also said Monday that the fight against Boko Haram and Islamic State jihadists is the same battle after he met Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari, who is on a three-day visit to France seeking support for his battle against Boko Haram, warned the jihadist group had expanded "after declaring its loyalty to IS". He said the jihadists' alliance, announced in March, had given Boko Haram "a source of material resources". "We know Boko Haram is linked to Daesh and so receives help, support from this group," Hollande said, using the Arabic acronym for the IS group. "To fight Boko Haram is to fight Daesh, and we can no longer single out terrorism according to regions. It is the same terrorism, inspired by the same ideology of death," the French leader added.
Trip
Buhari's three-day trip to France comes a little more than three months after he took charge of Africa's largest economy. The 72-year-old former military ruler will also meet with members of government on defence, security, trade and investment in his oil-rich country.
Buhari has made defeating Boko Haram a priority since he came to power in May, after six years of bloodshed that has left at least 15,000 dead and made more than two million others homeless. Anglophone Nigeria is in a coalition with Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, and overcoming historically suspicious ties with its French-speaking neighbours is seen as key to defeating the Islamist militants.
France's military base in Chad's capital, N'Djamena has become the hub of its operations against jihadists in the Sahel region, and last month Hollande proposed to host an international meeting on tackling Boko Haram. While Boko Haram has lost territory it once controlled in northeastern Nigeria, it has nevertheless stepped up deadly ambushes in its traditional heartland and across the border in Cameroon and Chad. "France's assistance to Nigeria against Boko Haram focuses mainly on intelligence operations," said a source close to Hollande, adding that Paris conducts surveillance flights over Nigeria "at the request of the Nigerians." Buhari is also trying to revitalise Nigeria's oil-dependent economy after a slump in revenue caused by the fall in global crude prices since mid- 2014, made worse by claims the country's treasury was left "virtually empty" by Buhari's predecessor Goodluck Jonathan.
During his trip he will meet the heads of French oil giant Total and concrete manufacturer Lafarge, both of which have operations in Nigeria. Hollande said a number of agreements had been signed in the agricultural sector "which is Buhari's major priority." The 180-million-strong Nigerian population may still suffer from widespread poverty, but the country is also experiencing the rise of a middle class with considerable spending power that is attracting investors, despite Nigeria's poor infrastructure.
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