Dakar/Nairobi (dpa) - The leaders
of twelve West African countries have agreed to use their armed forces
to fight locusts which have wreaked havoc in the region during recent weeks,
news reports said Wednesday.
After talks late Tuesday in the Senegalese
capital Dakar, ministers agreed to coordinate crop-spraying operations
from five bases in Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad, the BBC reported.
Senegals President Abdolaye Wade said that only the mobilisation of military forces could stop the locust infestation from spreading further.
The infestations of the desert locust are the most widespread and damaging for 15 years.
Wade also asked for urgent international help in the form of pesticides and aircraft rather than money. dpa ve pmc