In an interview given to The cross and to The Obs, the President of Niger announces the end of the G5-Sahel, the joint regional military organization (Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad), from which Mali has just announced its withdrawal. Mohamed Bazoum calls for a more massive and more resolute engagement of French and European forces against jihadist groups.
Niger will welcome in a few weeks the French and European soldiers of the Barkhane and Takuba forces leaving Mali. The ruling junta in Bamako, which no longer wants the French military presence, announced on May 15, 2022 its withdrawal from the G5-Sahel, including its joint anti-jihadist force launched in 2017 to protest against the refusal opposed in Mali to hold the rotating presidency of this regional organization.
“The G5-Sahel is dead. Since the second coup in Mali, Bamako has been in a headlong rush that isolates it in Africa and deprives us of a concerted and coordinated strategy to fight against terrorism”deplores the Nigerian president.
“France’s departure from Mali, while it is a major partner, now prevents us from coordinating our actions. Mali’s isolation in West Africa is bad for the sub-region.”
Mohamed Bazoum, President of Nigerin “The Cross”
In this interview, the Nigerien president criticizes the Malian junta resulting from the putsch of May 2021. “Our border with Mali is now under the control of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS). Bamako has not invested the advanced military posts on our border”he said.
Mr. Bazoum also reaffirms in the interview with The cross and to The Obs his desire for a massive deployment of French and European forces in his country “on the border of Mali and Burkina”. Urging French President Emmanuel Macron and his European peers to do more in the Sahel to ensure the success of their military operations in the Sahel.
“The war in Ukraine shows that Westerners have a lot of money, of which they can put a significant part in the fight against terrorism, in the stabilization of our countries”he believes. “Westerners in operations take too many precautions, which makes it difficult for them to succeed in their actions. They are obsessed with this idea that it takes zero losses to succeed. don’t be haunted by losses”, insists the Nigerian president. Since 2013, the French army has lost more than 50 soldiers in the Sahel.
The Nigerien president wants the presence of the French force Barkhane “more consistent, different rules of engagement and more equipment for our armies”.
“We expect them (the European armies) to be sent there in large numbers, with substantial air capabilities, effective rules of engagement, sacrifices, financial means, with many more helicopters, bombs. We will be very disappointed if, tomorrow, France and Europe are positioning symbolic forces in our country to combat the spread of terrorism”he warns.