Emmanuel Macron announced, Thursday, February 17, the withdrawal of French forces engaged in Mali as part of Operation Barkhane. This operation will take between four and six months, according to the French head of state. On Friday, the ruling junta asked France to withdraw its soldiers “without delay”. For the neighboring countries of Mali, this decision is not without consequences.
In Burkina Faso, France’s welcome departure
In Burkina Faso the departure of French troops from Barkhane arouses satisfaction. The image of France is, whether we like it or not, always that of a colonizing people. France is seen as arrogant and giving lessons. Moreover, Operation Barkhane is not considered effective: since its creation, the situation has only worsened as the jihadists have progressed from Mali to Burkina Faso. Nearly 80% of Burkinabe territory is out of control today and people are wondering what Barkhane is doing.
This question is particularly linked to the fact that in Burkina Faso, unlike Mali, Barkhane is not stationed en masse. We therefore do not see the French army. There are Operation Saber special forces, but they are on the outskirts of the capital, Ouagadougo. These soldiers, very discreet, are in charge of heavy operations, for example the elimination of jihadist leaders. However, as there was no communication on what Barkhane could do in Burkina Faso, this fueled mistrust: everyone wonders how such a powerful and well-equipped army does not overcome terrorists. This has fueled conspiracy theories. On social networks, many say, for example, that France is arming terrorists to maintain insecurity and stay in the Sahel.
Burkina Faso, like Guinea and Mali, experienced a military coup a few weeks ago. Despite this context, there is absolutely no question for the time being of the departure of the Saber commandos. The soldiers who took power are men on the ground, young officers who know that they are expected at the turn by the population for very quick results in terms of a return to security. However, the Burkinabe army is totally under-equipped. There have already been more than 500 or 600 fallen soldiers – the figures are quite opaque. These young soldiers therefore know that they need rapid support. Moreover, they know France well since the leader of the junta, Lieutenant Colonel Damiba, is a graduate of the Paris War School. It remains to be seen how this support will take place. One thing is certain: it will have to be both discreet but assumed by both sides to be legitimate and, above all, to bring results very quickly.
In Ivory Coast, a necessary reorganization
Côte d’Ivoire will also have to reorganize because the country shares more than 500 kilometers of borders with Mali. This border is porous, even if it has been monitored much more for two years. The risk is obviously the infiltration of armed groups on Ivorian soil. There have already been several attacks in the past two years targeting soldiers and law enforcement. The head of French foreign intelligence, Bernard Émié, said in 2021 that Al-Qaeda in the Sahel is developing a “expansion project” towards the Gulf of Guinea, in particular towards the Ivory Coast and Benin.
Thursday, February 18, the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara therefore said he was ready to invest more in security. “The departure of Barkhane and Takuba creates a void”he admitted in an interview with RFI and France 24. “We will be forced to increase our defense forces, increase the protection of our borders, buy weapons and have greater professionalization. This is also our duty. National armies must solve the problems on our national territories. This is our philosophy and we will take all possible measures even if we have to spend 3 or 4% of the GDP on military expenditure. We will do it for our protection because without security there will be no development. “ Alassane Ouattara also appealed to his Western partners. “French soldiers are welcome with us like Americans like others”did he declare.
The French military presence is already significant in Ivory Coast since 900 soldiers are deployed there. Abidjan is Barkhane’s logistics base and Franco-Ivorian cooperation should intensify. The visit of the Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, Thierry Burkhard, last week, is proof of this. He spoke with his Ivorian counterpart and the Minister of Defense before going to the international counter-terrorism academy in Jacqueville near Abidjan. This structure is co-financed by France and the Ivory Coast. It trains soldiers, police officers, gendarmes and magistrates to deal with the terrorist threat. They take part in special forces training. Several hundred trainees from different West African countries have already been trained since the creation of the academy in 2017.