RABAT, Morocco (AP) Boko Haram, the Nigerian group recently labeled by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, trained with al-Qaida's North African branch in northern Mali, France's foreign minister said Thursday, citing documentary evidence.
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 the 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 was announced by the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
There are longstanding concerns that extremist groups throughout the poorly controlled desert regions are coordinating their activities.