After nine years of presence, the last French soldiers of Barkhane left Mali on Monday, announced the Elysée. The withdrawal of troops, which began in February, has now been completed for this military operation which aimed to fight against Islamists in the Sahel. “This day at 1:00 p.m. (from Paris, 11:00 GMT), the last detachment of the Barkhane force present on Malian soil crossed the border between Mali and Niger”said the French general staff in a press release.
“France remains committed to the Sahel, the Gulf of Guinea and the Lake Chad region with all the partners committed to stability and the fight against terrorism”, said the Elysée in a press release. The military presence in the Sahel will be halved by the end of the year, to 2,500 soldiers.
On February 17, noting that “the political and operational conditions were no longer met to remain engaged in Mali”, France had decided to reorganize the device of Operation Barkhane “outside Malian territory”, recalled the Elysée. Niger has accepted the maintenance of an air base in Niamey and the support of 250 soldiers for its military operations on the Malian border. Chad will continue to host a French hold in N’Djamena and France hopes to retain a contingent of special forces in Ouagadougou, the Burkinabè capital.
“We will not let go of the security of the African continent”warned French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of July in Yaoundé, reaffirming his desire to “reinvent” the “military and security apparatus” French, particularly in the Sahel. “France will remain resolutely committed to the security of the continent in support and at the request of our African partners”assured the Head of State during a speech to the French community of Yaoundé.
Mixed results
Relations between Paris and Bamako have deteriorated sharply over the past year. After nine years of military presence in Mali, via Operation Serval then Barkhane, France was pushed out by the Malian military authorities, six months after the arrival of the paramilitaries of the Wagner groupa Russian private company.
The results are mixed: if Operation Barkhane, which succeeded Operation Serval in 2013, achieved great tactical successes by eliminating many jihadist leaders and hindering the room for maneuver of armed groups, the Malian State has ever transformed the essay by providing political answers. Consequence: the violence continues to escalate and the anti-French sentiment gained ground.
More than 2,000 civilians were killed in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso since the start of the year, already more than the 2,021 identified for the whole of 2021, according to AFP calculations based on a compilation by the specialized NGO Acled. In nine years of presence in the Sahel, the French army has lost 59 soldiers.