Bamako – Mali’s army-led government asked France on Friday to withdraw its troops from the Sahel state “without delay”, calling into question Paris’ plans to pull out over several months.
A government spokesman added in a statement announced on public television that the results of France’s nine-year military engagement in conflict-torn Mali were “not satisfactory”.
On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he was withdrawing troops from Mali after a breakdown in relations with the nation’s ruling military junta.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply after Mali’s army seized power in a coup in 2020, and later defied calls to restore civilian rule swiftly.
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The French pullout after nearly a decade is also set to see the smaller European Takuba force of special forces, created in 2020, leave Mali.
France currently has some 5 000 troops deployed across the Sahel as part of its anti-jihadist Barkhane force – the majority in Mali.
Macron said the withdrawal would take place over four to six months.
Spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga called the French withdrawal a “flagrant violation” of accords between the two countries.
“In view of these repeated breaches of defence agreements, the government invites the French authorities to withdraw, without delay,” he said.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pexels
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