France and its military allies confirmed on Thursday that they would make an exit from Mali after almost a decade of fighting a jihadist insurgency around West Africa, reported France 24.
In a joint statement signed by France and its African and European allies, the countries said that “multiple obstructions” by Mali’s military government meant that the conditions were no longer in place to operate in the country.
Both France’s Barkhane force in the Sahel and the Takuba European force will begin the withdrawal of forces soon.
“The political, operational, and legal conditions are no longer met to effectively continue their current military engagement in the fight against terrorism in Mali,” the statement said.
The announcement was made at the start of a two-day summit between the European Union and the African Union.
During a press conference, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the country will close its three remaining military bases in Mali in the next four to six months.
He added that the withdrawal will be carried out in an orderly manner, with the Malian armed forces and the United Nations Mission in Mali. He said that during the period his government will maintain support missions for the Minusma.
It is expected that up to 3,000 French troops will remain stationed across the Sahel once the withdrawal from Mali is complete.
France currently has about 4,300 troops deployed across the Sahel region over half of them in Mali as part of its anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane, launched in 2013 following a request from Malian authorities.
The withdrawal announcement was widely expected following pressure from the Malian military junta that came to power following two coups.
Two weeks ago, the junta expelled the French ambassador to the country, after it demanded Denmark to immediately pull its 90 soldiers out of the country, arguing that they had arrived without its consent.
The international partners and African countries are disappointed by the Malian transitional authorities as they did not respect their commitment to the West African organization ECOWAS “to hold presidential and legislative elections by February 27, 2022”.
