Thirty jihadists were killed in early February in Mali’s Liptako by European special forces from the Takuba group and the Malian armed forces they are accompanying in combat, the French general staff said on Tuesday. The announcement of this joint success comes as the future of this force, created in 2020 at the initiative of Paris and in which around ten European countries participate is threatened, due to tensions between the junta in power in Mali and the French government.
“This is the first time that a Malian unit engaged with Takuba has obtained such an operational record”, asserts the staff, specifying that this operation carried out from February 1 to 6 in the so-called “three borders” zone on the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger made it possible to seize “a lot of equipment and components for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices”. For Paris, praising the involvement of Malian soldiers in this joint operation allows Bamako to face up to its responsibilities in the fight against terrorism. Faced with a hostile junta which has just expelled its ambassador and demanded the departure of a Danish contingent recently deployed in Mali, Paris has given itself until mid-February to decide with its European partners on the future of their military presence in this country, where France has been fighting since 2013 at the cost of 53 soldiers killed.
This reflection could well lead to the departure from Mali of French troops and Takuba’s special forces, which were the target of virulent criticism on Tuesday from Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga, who accused this group of “divide Mali”. Takuba, “it’s ‘the sword’, in (language) Songhai and in Tamasheq, it’s not a name that was taken by chance”, he said.
According to details provided by the General Staff in a press release, “From February 1 to 6, 2022, a unit of Task Force Takuba composed of the Franco-Estonian Task Group in combat partnership with the Light Reconnaissance and Intervention Unit (ULRI) number 4, operated in the Malian Liptako. During this harassment mission, different groups of terrorists were located, identified and neutralized by Malian soldiers, supported by the (French anti-jihadist) force Barkhane”.
“This operation demonstrates the high level of cooperation, autonomy and maturity of ULRI number 4 as well as the effectiveness of the combat partnership between the Malian armed forces (FAMa) and TF Takuba”, argues the staff.
Symbol of a Europe of defense dear to Emmanuel Macron, this Takuba group of 800 soldiers is now dependent on the goodwill of the Malian junta. Norway announced that it was giving up sending a small contingent, for lack of agreement with Bamako. For Berlin too, the military commitment of the Europeans must be reassessed.
The relocation of the Takuba force, created by Paris to share the burden, is not an option in its current form. But its principle of supporting local armies in combat by small contingents of European special forces could be offered to other countries in the region, according to a diplomatic source.