President Emmanuel Macron called Thursday for France's allies to get more involved in the French-led fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel region of West Africa.

At a press conference in Paris with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Macron said "greater involvement" by NATO allies would be "wholly beneficial" and said the subject should be on the table at the NATO summit near London next week.

"I want a discussion between allies on a concrete commitment to the fight against terrorism in the Sahel and the Middle East," he said.

Macron also said France would begin a review of its Barkhane intervention in the Sahel following the death of 13 soldiers in Mali this week, with "all options on the table".

"Yesterday I held a first meeting, and I have asked the government and our armies to undertake a deep review in the coming weeks to examine the modalities of our intervention," he said.

"In this context, and in light of the decisions that France will take, a bigger engagement by its allies is obviously something that would be quite positive," he said.

Although Britain has provided helicopters and security personnel to help France's 4,500-member Barkhane force in Western Africa, and the US provides intelligence support, France has so far failed to persuade other allies to make a significant contribution.

"In the Sahel, France is involved and acting on behalf of everyone," Macron said.

"If some people want to see an example of what they term 'cost-sharing,' they can come Monday to the ceremony France is organising" for the 13 soldiers killed in a midair helicopter collision while fighting insurgents in Mali, he said.

"There they will see the cost."

Ethiopia defence minister breaks ranks with ally PM Abiy
Addis Ababa (AFP) Nov 30, 2019 - Ethiopia's defence minister, a key ally of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has criticised plans to transform the ruling coalition into a single party, highlighting growing divisions ahead of planned 2020 elections.

Analysts say the public split between the country's most powerful ethnic Oromo politicians could increase political uncertainty ahead of the May polls, and hinder Abiy's reformist agenda.

In an interview with Voice of America's Affan Oromo language service on Friday night, Defence Minister Lemma Megersa criticised the move to merge the coalition of ethno-regional parties which has ruled the country for three decades.

"I have had a different perspective from the beginning of the talks about the merger of EPRDF," said Lemma, adding that "even if that is to happen it shouldn't be done in a hurried way."

Nobel Peace Laureate Abiy's plans to transform the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) into one party have already been rejected by the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) -- the once dominant party of late strongman Meles Zenawi.

The three other parties last week voted to unite and form the Prosperity Party (PP), which Abiy hopes will heal ethnic divisions that have marred his rule, while critics say it will only deepen them.

Lemma also rejected Abiy's philosophy "Medemer" (Amharic for synergy) which is aimed at uniting the country.

Lemma is a former president of Ethiopia's largest and most populous regional state, Oromia and is currently vice chairman of the regional ruling party (ODP), with a large following in the region.

Abiy, himself an Oromo, came to power in April 2018 after more than two years of anti-government protests led by Ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara.

Ethiopian analyst Abel Abate said the public break between the two men will likely add to political uncertainty in the country as it prepares to hold general elections next year.

"While the process to form PP out of the ashes of EPRDF has gone a considerable distance, it's far from complete yet. This public disagreement could fatally injure plans to form PP", he said.

Meanwhile, Horn of Africa analyst Rashid Abdi wrote on Twitter that Abiy was "in deep trouble" after being ditched by his "single most important pillar of Oromo support".

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DR Congo says army to stage 'joint operations' with UN in Beni
Kinshasa (AFP) Nov 25, 2019
DR Congo's armed forces will stage "joint operations" with UN peacekeepers in the eastern town of Beni, where massacres by an armed group have sparked angry protests, the president's office said Monday. The joint operations aim at "ensuring peace and security for the civilian population," it said after an emergency meeting, adding that DR Congo's armed forces would set up an "advance headquarters" in Beni. The meeting - described as that of a "security council" - was chaired by head of state F ... read more