France must leave the African continent, as its interference in political affairs of African nations and exploitation of their economies hampers progress of the region, South Africa's opposition party Economic Freedoms Fighters (EEF) told Sputnik

About 18 million people, including 7.7 million children aged under five, will face severe food insecurity in the next three months in Africa's Sahel region, the highest figure since 2014, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday

Germany supports France in its decision to begin pulling the troops out of Mali and expects the move to have an impact on the entire foreign presence in the West African country, the German minister of state at the federal foreign office, Katja Keul, said on Thursday

France will conduct closures of its military bases in Mali for an expected period of four to six months, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday