Pan-Sahel Initiative

The Pan-Sahel Initiative was a military aid agreement initiated after September 11, 2001 between the USA and the states of Chad , Niger , Mali and Mauritania . The initiative was directed against smuggling, international crime and terrorist movements. The budget was 6.5 million USD (2004). About 350 US soldiers were in the region for this. Special forces of the battalion of the 10th Special Forces Group stationed in Stuttgart trained part of the armed forces in Mali.