The last French soldiers of Operation “Barkhane”, present in Mali for nine years, have left the country, the French General Staff announced on Monday August 15. in a press release. These soldiers are now in Niger, the same source said.
“Today, the last soldiers of Operation Barkhane, present on Malian soil, crossed the border between Mali and Niger. They came from the Gao desert operational platform, now transferred to the Malian Armed Forces.underlined the General Staff.
“France remains committed to the Sahel, the Gulf of Guinea and the Lake Chad region with all the partners committed to stability and the fight once morest terrorism”said the Elysée in a press release.
On Sunday, several dozen people demonstrated in Gao, in northern Mali, to demand the departure of the French military force Barkhane, organizers and local elected officials told Agence France-Presse. “As of today, Sunday August 14, 2022, we are giving an ultimatum of 72 hours for the final departure of Barkhane”had said protesters posing as “living forces” of Gao, a city plagued by jihadist violence.
Relations between the ruling junta in Bamako and Paris, a former colonial power, have deteriorated sharply in recent months, pushing the two countries to break up following nine years of uninterrupted French presence to fight once morest jihadists. After nine years of military presence in Mali, via the “Serval” and then “Barkhane” operation, France was pushed out by the Malian military authorities, six months following the arrival of paramilitaries from the Wagner group.
