The new commander of the Barkhane force, General Bruno Baratz, came Tuesday August 2 thank the President of Niger for the support he gives to the French army in its withdrawal from Mali.
The Nigerien Mohamed Bazoum is a valuable ally of France, in this last phase of the withdrawal of French soldiers from Mali, a sensitive logistical maneuver. Barkhane’s new boss is aware of this when he warmly thanks the Nigerien leader for his support. Several thousand French containers still have to pass through western Niger, in order to evacuate the last materials from the Gao base in Mali.
The movement of military convoys in the Sahel is always risky. In November 2021 – in the opposite direction – military vehicles leaving Abidjan for Gao were blocked by demonstrators. Three of them were killed in gunfire of undetermined origin. Military convoys, which can currently reach 10 km in length, disrupt traffic in Niger and Burkina Faso.
Everything is being done to ensure that the last French soldier has left Mali in the coming weeks. The aim is also to halve the French presence in the region, now limited to 2,500 men divided between Niger and countries in the Gulf of Guinea.
France has no other choice, given the terrible relations between Paris and Bamako. Just three days ago, the ruling junta in Mali attacked Emmanuel Macron directly for “demand from the French president that he abandon his neocolonial, paternalistic and condescending posture”. In reality, the Malian government finds itself today in a political, security and diplomatic impasse, after having pushed out the French soldiers. The nationalism stirred up by the junta against the French presence is no longer enough to unite the Malian population, which is beginning to worry about the future of the country after the departure of the French soldiers, and to understand the consequences.
The group of Russian mercenaries Wagner called in as reinforcements by Mali is accused of abuses of all kinds, and the Malian army fails to curb the advance of the jihadists. Internationally, the putschists in power in Bamako are largely isolated. On Sunday July 31, Algeria in turn called on them to organize elections as soon as possible.