France, Canada and European partners are withdrawing their troops from Mali. They announced this in a joint statement that the Élysée Palace published after consultations in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron said they wanted to remain active in the anti-terrorist mission in the Sahel. Plans are to be drawn up by June 2022 on how to remain present in the region.
The deduction affects the French-led Barkhane and Takuba missions. 14 European countries and Canada are involved in the Barkhane anti-terrorist mission and the Tabuka mission. Germany is not one of them. France has been in Mali since 2013 to fight IS and al-Qaeda militias. Operation Barkhane cost France around eight billion euros and 53 soldiers lost their lives. The mission also extends to the Sahel countries of Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
“We remain committed to supporting Mali and its people in their efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability and to combat the terrorist threats in the Sahel region,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement.
A number of armed groups are active in the Sahel region, which stretches south of the Sahara from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Some have pledged allegiance to the terrorist groups Islamic State (IS) or al-Qaeda. In addition to the anti-terrorist missions, the EU training mission EUTM and the UN stabilization mission Minusma, in which the Bundeswehr is involved with a good 1,350 soldiers, are also underway in Mali. According to French information, a total of around 25,000 soldiers are deployed in the area.
The German military operations are initially not directly affected by the announcement, but Germany is also one of the signatories to the notification. The Bundestag mandate runs until 31 May. The federal government has not yet publicly committed itself to continuing the military engagement.
Criticism of the Malian junta
Tensions between those in power in Mali and the French government had escalated in recent weeks since the African country expelled the French ambassador and prevented a Danish contingent from entering the country.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday that the conditions for anti-terrorist operations by French troops in Mali were “clearly” no longer in place. On Monday he referred to the takeover of power two years ago by a junta consisting of “five colonels” who “want to stay in power for another five years”. Elections in the country have been postponed to 2025. You can’t work with these “guys” who hinder any democratic development in the country and are condemned by all neighboring countries.
Le Drian also mentioned the Russian Wagner mercenaries in Mali, another theater of the major conflict with the Kremlin. These roughly 1,000 men were apparently brought into the country to protect the junta, he said.