How to put an end to terrorism in the Sahel? What is the best strategy to fight against the many jihadist groups with extraordinary resilience, very mobile and whose activism destabilizes states? Despite the presence of several forces and military operations - including Barkhane - on this desert territory of more than 3 million km², the war against terrorism is still far from won.
In recent months, attacks against several military bases and populations in Mali or Burkina Faso have multiplied. The most deadly, in early November, killed more than 50 people in the Malian ranks. In mid-November, Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, warned of the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel. "The numbers are shocking. Since January alone, more than 1,500 civilians have been killed in Mali and Burkina Faso, "he said in a report on the security situation in the region.
On Monday, a Nigerian soldier was killed in a car bomb attack on a Nigerian army camp in the western Tahoua region, near Mali. Another French soldier of Operation Barkhane was badly wounded Saturday in Mali in the explosion of an artisanal mine "in the region of Liptako located on the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso," said Colonel Frédéric Barbry to AFP.
Two weeks earlier, thirteen French soldiers were killed in the collision of two helicopters during an anti-terrorist operation in northern Mali.
Misunderstanding
To these various setbacks are added the financing problems of the joint G5 Sahel force, which render it inoperative. There is also the hostility of the populations - who no longer feel protected - against the United Nations Multidimensional Mission for the Stabilization of Mali (Minusma), despite its 13,000 men. "The security situation is bad in the Sahel countries. In these circumstances, one can understand that the populations are in misunderstanding. They feel that despite the many international military presences, the situation continues to deteriorate, "says Gilles Yabi, researcher and founder of the Wathi think tank based in Dakar, contacted by France 24.
"The people can not understand that a UN force, with the number of its soldiers and its huge budget, does not have a counterterrorist mandate," concedes Mahamat Saleh Annadif, former Chadian minister Foreign Minister and head of the Minusma for stabilization of Mali, contacted by France 24. "We hear their frustration. But our mandate is not to fight against terrorism, as the name of the mission indicates it is to stabilize Mali, "says the diplomat.
>> To read also: Operation Barkhane: the withdrawal of French troops in the Sahel is it possible?
The Minusma was deployed in 2013 as Mali was raging rebel movements in the north and center of the country. Six years later, these pro-independence movements - which for the most part initiated the peace process initiated in 2015 - have given way to terrorist groups affiliated with the Islamic State in the Great Sahara (EIGS).
A more offensive mandate to fight against terrorism?
On the sidelines of the Forum on Peace held on 12 and 13 November in Paris at the initiative of Emmanuel Macron, several heads of state - including the Nigerian president - reaffirmed their desire to have a more offensive UN mandate in the Sahel. "We asked the international community to put the G5 Sahel joint force under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter: we did not get it," regretted RFI microphone, Mahamadou Issoufou.
Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter provides for the undertaking "by air, naval or land forces of any action that [the Security Council] considers necessary for the maintenance or restoration of international peace and security" . This would pave the way, according to Mahamat Saleh Annadif, to funding from the UN. But this prospect remains blocked by the United States, which prefers to rely on bilateral aid to the five G5 Sahel countries. "Unfortunately, it must be acknowledged, these bilateral aid are not up to par," says the head of Minusma.
Should we then re-evaluate the mandate of the UN mission in Mali, two-thirds of which is in the hands of jihadist groups? Several African leaders have expressed their willingness to see UN forces become more offensive to terrorist groups. Because for the Nigerian president, in Mali, "it is no longer a question of maintaining peace there, but of making war".
For Gilles Yabi, this concern of African leaders is not new. "From the beginning of the peace mission in Mali in 2013, the question arose as to whether a traditional peacekeeping mission would be adapted to a terrain where the actors are armed terrorist groups. In my opinion, it is very unlikely that the Security Council will agree to provide a United Nations force with a counter-terrorism mandate. On the other hand, the idea of giving much greater resources to a regional force like the G5 Sahel is much more imaginable. But we can question the ability of our armed forces to engage, "says the researcher.
"We must professionalize the armies"
While Mahamat Saleh Annadif is of the opinion that the peacekeeping missions conceived in the 1950s are no longer suitable in today's environments full of terrorists, he also insists on the urgency of restructuring and rebuilding national armies. "The UN is carrying out reforms to adapt missions to their environment". However, diplomats say, "Africans can not count on themselves and their armies to fight terrorism, it is essential to rebuild them because security does not contract out."
"We must professionalize the armies," says Ahmedou Ould Abdalah, director of the Center for Strategy and Security in the Sahel Sahara, based in Nouakchot. "Our soldiers had still fought valiantly in terrible weather conditions during the First and Second World Wars. But how do you want to have a professional army with family recruitments? "The former Mauritanian Foreign Minister points to the corruption that plagues many administrations in Africa.
>> Read also: Counter-terrorism in the Sahel: "The solution can not be that military"
For him, who was the special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Somalia, the fight against terrorism can only be resolved first through good governance. "The powers that be must open up to civil society and stop excluding political parties from the opposition. This is the real problem of our countries and not Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, "he concludes.
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