The ruling junta in Bamako asked France on Friday to “withdraw without delay” its soldiers from Mali, attracting a dismissal from President Emmanuel Macron, the day after the latter announced a withdrawal. spread over the next few months.
In a statement read on national television, the spokesman for the government installed by the military, Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, describes the announcement of the French disengagement as a “flagrant violation” of the agreements between the two countries. He also says that the results of nine years of French engagement in Mali “have not been satisfactory”.
France will withdraw “in good order”
“In view of these repeated breaches (of) the defense agreements, the government invites the French authorities to withdraw, without delay, the Barkhane and Takuba forces from national territory, under the supervision of the Malian authorities,” said Colonel Maïga.
France will withdraw “in good order” and will not compromise for a second on the safety of its soldiers, Mr Macron replied. The request for immediate withdrawal from the colonels who came to power by force in August 2020 is a new challenge to the former French partner, after months of escalating tensions.
Some 2,400 French soldiers are deployed in Mali, out of a total of 4,600 in the Sahel. The disengagement of these men, the dismantling of their bases, as well as the evacuation of equipment, including hundreds of armored vehicles, already represented in itself a colossal and dangerous project.
The French president had indicated Thursday that the closure of the three bases of Gao, Ménaka and Gossi, would be spread over four to six months.
The junta has continued to complicate the operations of France, but also of its partners and foreign forces in Mali for weeks, pushing out the Danish contingent of the European special forces grouping Takuba initiated by France, or else establishing requests for prior authorization to fly.
The military claim national sovereignty. France and its European partners formalized their military withdrawal from Mali on Thursday, leading other foreign actors present in the country to openly question their commitment.
They invoked the “multiple obstructions of the Malian authorities”.
Multiple seizures
Paris and its partners, however, want to “remain engaged in the” Sahelian region and “extend their support to neighboring countries in the Gulf of Guinea and West Africa”, where the jihadists threaten to spread, according to a joint declaration signed by 25 European, African countries and Canada.
France and Westerners denounce the appeal made, according to them, by the Malian authorities to the Russian private security group Wagner, whose actions are controversial. The Malian authorities ensure that they do not resort to mercenaries and speak of state-to-state cooperation with Russia.
France, the West African states and part of the international community were also moved by the fact that the military revoked their initial commitment to organize elections in February 2022 which would have brought civilians back to power, and that they now intend to remain several more years.
The junta has invoked the need for far-reaching reforms and has been bent on national sovereignty since the community of West African states imposed heavy economic and diplomatic sanctions on Mali on January 9. She accuses France of using African organizations against her.
“The government recalls that, compared to the expected results, the results obtained and officially announced by the French authorities have not been satisfactory”, whether it is Operation Serval in 2013 or Barkhane which succeeded it , said the press release read Friday noon.
Mali in the grip of several crises
Mali is the target of the actions of jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization. It is also plagued by communal and villainous violence, as well as a deep political, economic and humanitarian crisis.
France intervened in 2013 to stem the advance of radical Islamist groups threatening Bamako and then mounted a large regional operation, Barkhane, deploying thousands of troops to fight local al-Qaeda and IS franchises. .
Despite tactical victories, the land was never really taken over by the Malian state. And a double coup, in 2020 and 2021, consecrated a junta that is stirring up growing anti-French sentiment. Mali also hosts 15,000 UN soldiers in Minusma. The latter said Thursday to study the impact of the withdrawal of France and its partners.