The Foreign Secretary said the UK is "not omnipotent" when it comes to
stopping terrorists in the region, as ministers gathered for an emergency
meeting to discuss the aftermath of the Algerian hostage crisis.
David Cameron is chairing the Cobra meeting and will update the House of
Commons on the situation this afternoon, as the death toll from the incident
rose to more than 80, including up to six Britons.
The situation is now over, after Algerian forces stormed a gas plant where
hundreds of hostages were held for up to four days. However, several people
are still unaccounted for.
The Coalition is now expected to boost Britain's diplomatic and intelligence
presence Algeria and Mali, which is also fighting Islamist militants, amid
fears the region is a growing terrorist stronghold.
Speaking over the weekend, Mr Cameron has said the struggle against al Qaeda
in lawless regions of north Africa could take decades.
The Foreign Secretary this morning also warned the fight would not be easy as
Britain does not have a strong presence in these areas.
"It is a complete illusion to think that we are omnipotent," he said on BBC Radio Four's Today programme. "There is no perfect policy prescription...we need to use a whole variety of political and economic instruments as well as, where necessary, the military power, for instance that France has deployed. That most importantly, must come from African countries in order to resolve these problems."
He said Britain's presence in the region is not strong because France is the former colonial power in much of north west Africa.
"We have a limited diplomatic presence in these francophone west African states," he said. "It’s not, for us, anything like as comparable to our presence and strong connections in east Africa, for instance."
Weapons and fighters from Libya have spread across the Sahel region after the Arab Spring, he said. However, he inisisted Western military intervention helped "mitigate" , rather than exacerbate, the violence.
Mr Hague said it would be best for a force of Africa troops to get Mali under control, but introducing this too soon when it is still unstable could be a "terrible military blunder".
"It is a complete illusion to think that we are omnipotent," he said on BBC Radio Four's Today programme. "There is no perfect policy prescription...we need to use a whole variety of political and economic instruments as well as, where necessary, the military power, for instance that France has deployed. That most importantly, must come from African countries in order to resolve these problems."
He said Britain's presence in the region is not strong because France is the former colonial power in much of north west Africa.
"We have a limited diplomatic presence in these francophone west African states," he said. "It’s not, for us, anything like as comparable to our presence and strong connections in east Africa, for instance."
Weapons and fighters from Libya have spread across the Sahel region after the Arab Spring, he said. However, he inisisted Western military intervention helped "mitigate" , rather than exacerbate, the violence.
Mr Hague said it would be best for a force of Africa troops to get Mali under control, but introducing this too soon when it is still unstable could be a "terrible military blunder".
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