Europe to up migrant aid to Africa

PARIS - The leaders of France, Germany, Spain and Italy vowed on Monday to strengthen support for African countries in an effort to stem illegal migration.

The leaders issued a joint statement Monday evening following a meeting in Paris on migration, in which they were joined by their counterparts from Niger and Chad, along with head of Libya's United Nations-backed government and the foreign policy chief of the European Union.

"Migration is a transnational phenomenon that cannot be tackled by a single state, but requires a high level of coordination within Europe and between European and African countries, which requires a long-term response to development," the statement said.