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Written by Piero Messina
Christmas in Bamako for French President Emmanuel Macron. The French head of state goes next Monday to Mali to celebrate the Christmas holidays with his troops stationed in the Sahel country for more than eight years. It is the latest act of Operation Barkhane in Mali. Barkhane is the military mission launched by France to counter terrorist formations, conducted in cooperation with five countries, all former French colonies that cross the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, the so-called “G5 Sahel”.
Macron will meet the interim president of Mali, Colonel Assimi Goita, who came to power in August 2020 and confirmed in May 2021 with the putsch that reiterated the takeover by the military.
Mali is one of the fault lines of the world, the country of the Sahel is the not only virtual frontier that separates the jihadist formations from North Africa and Europe. Now it risks becoming a critical fault for the already fragile relations between Europe and Russia.
For months, France has been planning a gradual withdrawal from Mali. Demobilization was announced by the Elysée at the end of June this year. The plan to withdraw from Mali provides for a profound revision of the French military device present in the Sahel with the gradual sale, in particular, of its three bases north of Mali. French army bases in Kidal, Tessalit and Timbuktu will be closed by the end of the year and handed over to the Malian army.
The chief of staff of the French troops confirmed the handover of the military base: “After that of Kidal, the base occupied by the Barkhane forces in Tessalit was transferred, on 13 November, to the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa). The last French soldiers left the site on November 15, is a statement to the press issued by the French army.
The chief of staff stressed that the transfer was “gradual, controlled and closely coordinated between the Malian army and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), whose contingent, consisting of several hundred soldiers , is permanently deployed in Tessalit ”. The handing over of the base to Malian soldiers, according to the French authorities, “is part of the evolution of the combat partnership between the French and Malian forces”. The “training sessions”, Paris specified, were conducted in this context “for several weeks”. The goal between the two forces was to “share their know-how and prepare Mali for the full assumption of the base by a group of their armed forces”. In reality, despite the reassuring tones, relations between France and Mali are on the verge of rupture. Macron criticizes the Malian president Goita for choosing to rely on Wagner’s mercenary troops. Presence of Russian mercenaries creates great embarrassment for France and its European and African partners.
In 2013, France was welcomed in Timbuktu as a liberator after months in which the population had lived under the jihadist yoke. Today the French are leaving the city without having found a solution and with a security situation that is deteriorating throughout the Sahel area.
The end of Operation Barkhane is not a true farewell from France to Mali. But above all, it is not the end of the crusade against terror that has been fought for nine years now. In fact, since March 2021, the Takuba mission has been operational, it is a French-led multilateral military mission in Mali, in which troops from Belgium, Italy, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Holland, Norway, Portugal participate. Sweden, the United Kingdom and Greece. In addition, the member countries of the G5 Sahel (Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad) participate. The objective of the mission Takuba follows Barkhane’s storytelling: stabilize the African country and at least part of the greater Sahel region, regulate migratory flows, control illicit trafficking and counter jihadism. The arrival of Wagner, now, could put everything into question.
Bon voyage 🐸 Safe trip home.
hi
FRANCE has achieved number of key objectives in order to DESTABILIZE AND LOOT MALI IT HAS IMPLANTED IT’S PROXIES SUCH AS AL QAIDA,ISIS ETC IT HAS ALSO HELPED EVANGELICAL AND CATHOLIC CHURCHES TO MAKE IN ROADS INTO A MUSLIM COUNTRY BY CREATING CHURCH AFFILIATED NGOs TO COVERT MUSLIMS EXACT REPLICAS THAT IS TAKEN PLACE IN CAMEROON,BRKINA FASO ETC DESTABILIZED COUNTRY IS EASY TO LOOT PLEASE SEE THE EXAMPLE OD DRC KNOWS AS DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Not France, not me
Sylvain WHITEMAN TALK WITH FORKED TONGUE Historical fact
Not France, but People who stole the “France” name and made money with invasions.
Common French people does not rule France. Don’t insult white men, we are all different white men from each others. I don’t think the same way as at least half of French people.
Many French people don’t care about outside, don’t care about invading Africa, don’t care about invading Asia and don’t care about getting energy resources.
If we must use horses, cows and donkeys, plows to produce wheat, corn, we would adapt easily. If winters get cold without gas, we will adapt as well with pullovers from sheeps. If we have no petrol, we will use bikes and trailers. All would be easy for us.
Sylvain What a liar you are All French people same they always know how to pass the buck Sorry I do NOT BUY YOUR EXPLANATION All you have to see how France treats it’s immigrant population and how you are being placed in Ghetto called BANLIEU
Something is seriously wrong with you if you think all people of a country are the same.
Yes, even immigrants are different among each others. Some work, some don’t work and steal tax money from workers.
Sylvain Just France STEALS FROM AFRICA 500 BILLION DOLLARS OF NATURAL RESOURCES ETC THAT YOU WILL NOT ADMIT YET A FEW PETTY CRIMINALS OF IMMIGRANTS IS HIGHLIGHTED BY YOU AND BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION
Not France, but People who stole the “France” name and made money with invasions.
Never I went and never I will go to Africa, this continent does not interest me, nor its natural resources.
I have used the words “some”, “many”, “share” before immigrants. NOT “All”. Learn to read.
Ragheadthefiendlyterrorist I have made comment based on my observations and my stay in France as student ALL FRENCH PEOPLE ARE ARROGANT AND RACIST
Not my fault if some immigrants reproduce too much without working and money in banlieues (suburbs).
They still have the possibility to go to the countryside to help farmers and gain money but many immigrants are too weak and too lazy to work in farms. But that share of immigrants prefer make problems by themselves in suburbs.
Sylvain Your com shows your true thinking Get out of our country and stop invading our country based on lies and STOP ROBBING US
I agree with the fact that French people and French armies have to stop invading Africa.
If all people do like Me (stay in my country), your Africa continent will be quiet again.
That is I am saying in my posts. Do not say I came in your continent to steal your minerals, I haven’t.
My true thinking ? It’s just normal that the share of people who does not work and make many babies have difficulties in banlieues (suburbs). It’s not a point of view, it’s a fact.
Very good, come back home.
Sales criminels de guerre français, go home and don’t come back.
And my tax money, come back into my pocket too. I don’t want to pay for Africa invasion.
The taxpayer of France like you sir, should make petition to the Government by stopping using tax money, to waste money on bullets invading and destroying homes of foreign country. It’s better to focus on France Natural Resources than looting to other Country.
You are right but: If only we were a democracy, we voted NO to European Union in 2005 then Sarkozy made us enter EU in 2009. And NATO too. They don’t care about our opinion but only their money for the richest 1%.
We are completly under their domination actually.