Received by the Malian Minister of Defense, the boss of Barkhane wants to reassure

According to the boss of Barkhane, the re-articulation of the French military system in Mali is being done in close collaboration with the national armed forces.

AP - Jerome Delay

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

General Laurent Michon was received this Tuesday, October 5 by the Malian Minister of Defense, Colonel Sadio Camara.

It was above all a question of the reorganization of the French military system on the ground.

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With our correspondent in Bamako,

Serge Daniel

“ 

It took place in a good atmosphere,

 ” commented the Malian and French officials who attended the meeting.

After a plenary meeting between the two delegations, the Malian Minister of Defense, Colonel Sadio Camara, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Barkhane force, General Laurent Michon, met face-to-face.

This visit comes after the

controversial remarks of Prime Minister Choguel Maïga

according to which France has abandoned Mali, and while rumors of an agreement between Bamako and the Russian private company Wagner are becoming insistent.

From a source close to the two delegations, the Wagner file was not mentioned.

About the "

abandonment

" denounced by the head of the Malian government, the boss of the French troops wanted to reassure.

Always air support

General Laurent Michon explains that the re-articulation of the French military system on the ground is being done in close collaboration with the Malian armed forces (Fama).

Barkhane, for example, recently helped a contingent of the Malian army to go to the locality of Tessalit in the north to provide relief.

The commander-in-chief of Barkhane affirms that the support of the French army also allowed the deployment in Ménaka of the reconstituted Malian army - made up of ex-rebels and elements of the regular army.

In the event of jihadist attacks in one of the three localities in northern Mali that the French troops are preparing to leave, General Laurent Michon explains: "

We have the possibility, which is unchanged in volume and in time, to send a air support.

 "

Also in the north, he assured that the European force Takuba under French command continues to support the Malian army in the region known as the three borders.

► To read also: Closure of Algerian airspace: what military consequences for France in the Sahel?

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