The French army will officially leave the Ménaka military base, located in northeastern Mali, and hand over the keys to the Malian armed forces (FAMa) on Monday, the French general staff said.

The French soldiers will leave Mali for good "at the end of the summer" with the transfer to the FAMa of their main hold in Gao, underlined the spokesman for the general staff, General Pascal Ianni, during a press briefing.

Barkhane in the Sahel, France's current largest external operation, mobilized up to 5,500 men on the ground in 2020. Paris decided to scale back last summer, closing its northernmost advanced military bases in Mali. – Kidal, Tessalit and Timbuktu.

The French army "very vigilant to information attacks"

Opened in 2018, the Ménaka base, in the region known as the three borders, on the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, notably housed the group of French and European special forces Takuba, which aimed to help the forces Malians to gain autonomy.

His PC is maintained in Gao, before his disappearance.

"There are no plans to transfer Takuba to Niger," said the staff.

Relations between the junta in power in Bamako and Paris, a former colonial power, have deteriorated sharply in recent months, particularly since the arrival in Mali of paramilitaries from the Russian group Wagner, pushing the two countries to break up after nine years of uninterrupted French presence to fight against the jihadists.

The day after the previous handover of a French base, in April in Gossi, the French general staff had broadcast videos shot by a drone near this site showing paramilitaries from the Russian company Wagner burying bodies with a view to accusing France of war crimes.

Thus, before the handover of Ménaka, the French army was "very vigilant to information attacks", suspecting possible maneuvers to harm its image, in particular through the organization of anti-French demonstrations, or accusations of collusion between Barkhane and jihadists, who have already transpired on social media.

“The ability to organize an effective response is limited”

"Since the beginning of this year, we have seen a deterioration of the three-border area with consequent effects on the Ménaka and Gao regions," said El-Ghassim Wane, UN envoy for this country to the Council. security, ensuring fear of a jihadist attack could intervene against the city of Ménaka.

Emmanuel Macron confirmed this morning the closure of the last French bases in #Mali within "4 to 6 months"... Back with @PoherCamille on the #Barkhane operation which, in nine years, has turned into "operation fiasco” https://t.co/2ygpJAylHV via @20minutes

— Marion Pignot (@pignot1) February 17, 2022


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“If this scenario were to materialize, the Minusma base risks being perceived as the last refuge for civilians fleeing violence, he further estimated.

With minimal Malian forces in the area and some 600 peacekeepers available to protect civilians, UN personnel and property, Minusma's ability to mount an effective response is limited.

»

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Mali: Who is the Russian paramilitary group “Wagner” which operates in secret?

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