France and its allies in a European force have announced they will begin withdrawing troops from Mali after nearly 10 years fighting an armed unrest. A statement signed by France and its African and European allies published on Thursday said that “multiple obstructions” by the ruling military government meant that the conditions were no longer in place to operate in Mali.
Delina Goxho, a specialist in security in the Sahel region, told Al Jazeera from neighboring Niger’s capital, Niamey, that the withdrawal would leave a security vacuum, creating a problem for both Mali and Niger. “In the short term, what we foresee is the vacuum in terms of security especially in the border area where most armed groups are located,” she said. “The fact that Barkhane will not be providing security at least for a while … it will be a problem for those troops both Malian and Niger in particular. So this will have immediate consequences.”
France initially deployed troops against rebels in Mali in 2013 but the violence was never fully quelled, and now new fears have emerged of a rebel push to the Gulf of Guinea. Even after the pullout from Mali, however, the allies promised to remain engaged in fighting “terrorism” in other countries including Niger. The announcement of the withdrawal came at a critical time for Macron, just days before a long-awaited declaration from the president that he will stand for a new term in April elections.
Read more here.
