Present in the country since 2013, the French army will leave the African country after the junta takes power, the Elysée announced on Thursday morning. The withdrawal schedule remains to be specified.
It was expected, it is now official. France, its European allies in Takuba and Canada announced this Thursday morning a “coordinated withdrawal” from Mali where the French army arrived in 2013 to support the country in the face of the terrorist threat. “A courageous decision by President François Hollande”, said Emmanuel Macron. “Because of the multiple obstructions of the Malian transitional authorities, Canada and the European States operating alongside Operation Barkhane and within Task Force Takuba believe that the political, operational and legal conditions are no longer met to pursue effectively their current military commitment in the fight against terrorism in Mali and have therefore decided to begin the coordinated withdrawal from Malian territory of their respective military resources dedicated to these operations”, writes the Elysée in a morning press release.
At the heart of this decision, for which France widely consulted its allies, the instability in the country caused by the choice of the Bamako junta, which came to power after two coups, not to organize democratic elections. “We note and regret that the transitional Malian authorities have not fulfilled their commitments to ECOWAS, supported by the African Union, to organize presidential and legislative elections before February 27, 2022. We urge the Malian authorities to complete the transition period and to organize free, fair and credible elections.the statement said.
Moments later, during a press conference, Emmanuel Macron clarified: “We cannot remain militarily engaged alongside de facto authorities with whom we share neither the strategy nor the hidden objectives. This is the situation we face today in Mali. The fight against terrorism cannot justify everything, it must not, under the pretext of being an absolute priority, turn into an exercise in the indefinite retention of power. On the other hand, the head of state “reject completely” any idea of withdrawing on a failure. “What would have happened in 2013 if France had not chosen to intervene?” he wonders in front of the journalists. Before answering his own question in stride: “You would have had a collapse of the Malian state for sure.”
On the other hand, the French State, Canada and their European allies intend to remain engaged in the region “in order to contain the potential geographical extension of the actions of armed terrorist groups”. Thereby, “international partners indicate their willingness to actively consider extending their support to neighboring countries in the Gulf of Guinea and West Africa, based on their requests”assure the Elysée and its allies. “We all reaffirm our strong will to continue our partnership with and our commitment to the Malian people over the long term, to face all the challenges posed by the activity of armed terrorist groups in the Sahel”, they continue. In a statement from the Elysee Palace, Emmanuel Macron says he wants “involve and support more neighboring countries” of Mali, increasingly threatened by Al-Qaeda and Daesh, which make it “a priority of their expansion strategy”.
In concrete terms, European soldiers participating in the Takuba special forces group “will be repositioned alongside the Nigerien armed forces in the border region of Mali”the Head of State announced on Thursday. “This withdrawal will result in the closure of the rights-of-way of Gossi, Ménaka and Gao, it will be carried out in an orderly manner, with the Malian armed forces and with the United Nations Mission in Mali”. And, “During this period, we will maintain our support missions for the benefit of the Minusma”said Emmanuel Macron.
The announcement therefore comes as no surprise. As early as Monday evening, Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet confirmed that the allies have agreed to withdraw their troops from Mali, estimating that the announcement would take place on Wednesday, on the eve of a two-day European Union-Union summit. African in Brussels. The next day, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal confirmed that announcements were to be made. “do it quickly” after a meeting between Emmanuel Macron and African heads of state, Wednesday at the end of the day, at the Elysée.
“The conditions are no longer met”
Invited Monday evening on France 5, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, already explained that “the conditions are no longer met” to continue the fight against terrorism in Mali, where France has been present militarily since 2013. At issue: the maintenance of the junta in power and the arrival of“a thousand” of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner company in Mali, according to the tenant of the Quai d’Orsay.
Same story for the European partners of Takuba, the group of special forces which was to succeed Barkhane. The mission cannot continue “due to the flagrant violation of the rules by the Malian junta”, according to Kalle Laanet. “Democratic elections are not planned, which was one of the most important aspects of the agreement. […] It is not possible to continue under such conditions and all the other allies agreed. A Danish contingent has already left Mali on the orders of the junta, before Norway in turn gave up sending a few soldiers for lack of an agreement with Bamako.
Update : at 9:17 a.m., clarification of the French decision was added.