The last French soldiers of the “Barkhane” operation, present in Mali for nine years, left the country, announced on Monday August 15, the French general staff. in a press release.
“Today, the last soldiers of Operation Barkhane, present on Malian soil, crossed the border between Mali and Niger. They came from the deserted operational platform of Gao, now transferred to the Malian armed forces.underlined the staff.
After nine years of presence, ” [la force “Barkhane”] rearticulated out of the country in less than six months”commented the Ministry of the Armed Forces. “This major military logistical challenge was met, in good order and in safety, as well as in total transparency and in coordination with all partners. » The French had transferred, over the past six months, all their rights of way to the Malian army, the last of which, in Gao, in the north of the country, on Monday.
France had to take some 4,000 containers and a thousand vehicles out of Mali, including hundreds of armored vehicles, while the Sahel is experiencing an outbreak of violence, which the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Bamako’s new ally, is struggling to stem.
Military presence in the Sahel halved
On Sunday, several dozen people demonstrated in Gao, in northern Mali, to demand the departure of the French military force “Barkhane”, organizers and local elected officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “We give as of this day, Sunday August 14, an ultimatum of seventy-two hours for the final departure of “Barkhane””protesters had said, posing as “living forces” of Gao, a city plagued by jihadist violence.
“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 another press release.
The military presence in the Sahel will be halved by the end of the year, to 2,500 soldiers. 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 Burkinabé capital.
Fifty-nine French soldiers dead in the Sahel
Relations between the junta in power in Bamako and Paris, a former colonial power, have deteriorated sharply in recent months, pushing the two countries to break up after nine years of uninterrupted French presence to fight against the jihadists (operations “Serval” then ” Barkhane”). France was pushed out by the Malian military authorities, six months after the arrival of paramilitaries from the Wagner Group.
On February 17, noting that “the political and operational conditions were no longer met to remain engaged in Mali”France had thus decided to reorganize the device of the operation “Barkhane” “outside Malian territory”recalled the Elysée on Monday.
More than 2,000 civilians have been killed in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso since the start of the year, already more than the 2,021 recorded for the whole of 2021, according to AFP calculations based on a compilation of the specialized NGO Acled. In nine years of presence in the Sahel, the French army has lost 59 soldiers.