U.S. Pledges $60 Million for Antiterrorism Force in Africa<br />The pledge, announced by Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson in Washington<br />and Ambassador Nikki R. Haley at the United Nations, came as the United Nations Security Council was meeting about the vast and lawless Sahel region in western and north-central Africa, where the force will operate.<br />30, 2017<br />The United States pledged $60 million on Monday to a new United Nations-backed antiterrorism force from<br />five African countries including Niger, where four American soldiers were killed early this month.<br />Ms. Haley said in her remarks about the Sahel force at the Security Council<br />that "we understand the force will need ongoing support and are eager for opportunities to work with our partners to make this effort a successful one." The American pledge was welcomed by France, which has taken the lead in Western backing for the Sahel force.<br />The United States, the biggest single financial contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations, has been seeking to cut their costs<br />and had resisted proposals to commit peacekeeping resources to the five-nation Sahel force.<br />It was announced less than four weeks after four American soldiers, including Special Forces members,<br />were killed during a joint patrol with counterparts from Niger near the Mali border.
