Mali: the questioning of defense agreements, new episode of tension with France
French soldiers from Operation Barkhane in Gossi, Mali, in April 2022. REUTERS - PAUL LORGERIE
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2 mins
The Malian junta "denounced", this Monday, May 2, 2022, the defense agreements with France and its European partners.
The decision was notified by the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Chargé d'Affaires of the French Embassy in Bamako.
It comes as French and European soldiers are leaving the country and marks a new stage in the deterioration of relations between the two countries.
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Bamako castigates the "
serious shortcomings
" of military cooperation
, the "
flagrant attacks
" on national sovereignty and "
multiple violations
" of Malian airspace.
This is the consequence of two weeks of fighting over the Gossi affair.
This fake mass grave attributed to French soldiers for the purpose of informational warfare, according to Paris.
An act denounced by France on April 21, video in support, where we see men, probably Wagner militiamen, burying bodies very close to the camp that the Barkhane force had just returned to the Malians .
These accusations of duplicity annoyed Bamako, who deplored communication hostile to its army, and in return accused France of espionage and violation of airspace.
Accusations against Wagner
“ Questionable
” assertions
for the French general staff, which highlighted the agreement linking the two countries which allows the deployment
of surveillance drones
.
France went one better last week by publishing photos of white soldiers doing sports in the Gossi camp.
New proof, according to Paris, of the presence of Wagner.
This episode continues a conflictual year 2022, which notably saw Mali prohibit the deployment of Danish soldiers from Takuba, then expel the French ambassador at the end of January, accusing him of holding "
secret meetings
" with the aim of "
preparing a plan to overthrow the government
.
It was just before Emmanuel Macron confirmed in mid-February the departure of French troops from Mali.
Concretely, these disputed agreements are three texts.
The first is the cooperation treaty with France in defense matters, signed in 2014. This withdrawal will be effective in six months as provided for in the document.
Most cooperation, particularly on training and the exchange of intelligence, has already come to a halt due to the diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
“Administrative guerrilla”
The other two texts are the agreements on the status of foreign forces: that concluded in 2013 concerning Serval then Barkhane, and that of 2020 for Takuba.
Mali believes that their denunciation is immediate, but according to researcher Julien Antouly, France should take advantage of a twelve-month notice.
As for the consequences of this announcement, they are still uncertain for the researcher.
There could be a kind of “
administrative guerrilla warfare
”: reinstatement of visas, end of customs exemption on equipment, risk of prosecution in the event of fault or violation of the law by French soldiers.
This is enough to slow down the disengagement of French troops who must leave Mali definitively by the end of August.
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