Boko Haram Members Were Trained in Mali – France

Coming on the heels of recent announcement by US that it has labeled Boko Haram a terrorist organization, France said members of the Islamist group were being trained in Mali.

France's foreign minister, citing documentary evidence on Thursday, said that Boko Haram members were trained with al-Qaida's North African branch in Northern Mali.

Speaking at a conference in Morocco on security challenges in North Africa and the Sahel region to the south, Laurent Fabius said Boko Haram's presence there demonstrated how jihadi groups in Africa are interconnected and have to be fought on a regional level.

"Documents were found that terrorists from Boko Haram were being trained in the Ifoghas Mountains," he said referring to a part of vast northern Mali that had been an al-Qaida stronghold until a French-led military operation earlier this year. "This is a source of concern for all of us."

At a later news conference, Fabius said Boko Haram's presence in Mali had been known already — well before the kidnapping of a French priest in a part of Cameroon where the group is known to operate.

Thursday's conference, which included foreign ministers from France, Morocco, Libya and Mali, is seeking to improve regional security cooperation and address porous borders, especially in Libya.