Macron’s first non-Europe trip focuses on fighting extremism

FILE-- In this photo taken Sunday Feb. 10, 2013, French soldiers secure the area where a suicide bomber exploded at the entrance of Gao, northern Mali. France's new president Emmanuel Macron has chosen for his first official visit outside Europe the West African nation of Mali, a country where multiple extremist groups pose a growing danger to the region.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File) FILE-- In this photo taken Sunday Feb. 10, 2013, French soldiers secure the area where a suicide bomber exploded at the entrance of Gao, northern Mali. France's new president Emmanuel Macron has chosen for his first official visit outside Europe the West African nation of Mali, a country where multiple extremist groups pose a growing danger to the region.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

By Associated Press May 19, 2017 1 min read

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) – On his first official trip outside Europe, new French President Emmanuel Macron is highlighting his determination to crush extremism with a scheduled visit to French-led military forces combatting jihadist groups in West Africa.

During Friday’s trip to Mali, Macron will be briefed on the inner workings of Operation Barkhane. It is France’s largest overseas military mission, with more than 4,000 soldiers in Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. He is expected to visit a French base in the eastern city of Gao.

Macron repeatedly pledged ahead of his May 7 election that fighting terror would be his priority, after multiple attacks in France since 2015 that killed more than 230 people.

Most of the West African extremist groups France is combatting trace their origins to al-Qaida’s North Africa branch.