French military intervention, originally launched at the request of the Malian government but seen by many as a foreign occupation, has paradoxically exacerbated a conflict that has displaced 2.5 million people across the region in the last decade
President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday a pullout of French troops from Mali by the summer, amid escalating tensions with the country’s military junta.
France has about 4,300 troops in the Sahel, including 2,400 in Mali, a former French colony. Macron said Paris intends to maintain its military presence in neighbouring countries, and that the “heart” of the French operation will be moved to neighbouring Niger, in the region bordering Burkina Faso. David Otto, Director of the Geneva Centre for Africa Security and Strategic Studies, believes the idea of operating from Niger is nothing more than a “slow pullout” for France.
“The French find it no longer conducive to operate alongside the Russians,” Otto said, “and for me, this is a stab. If the big countries like France, Russia and the US cannot collaborate, then I don’t see why we should be talking about a global war on terror.” French presence has been increasingly unwelcome in Mali, where it is seen by many as a foreign occupation. This has contributed to the popularity of military junta leader Assimi Goita, a special forces colonel that led a coup d’etat in August 2020, and then carried out a “coup within a coup” by dismissing the civilian leaders in Mali’s transitional government and seizing power last May.
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