Mali: official end of the Takuba task force, announces France
Logo of the Takuba task force.
photo taken in December 2021 at the Menaka base in Mali.
© AFP/Thomas Coex
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Takuba in Mali, it's over.
The French general staff confirmed this on Friday July 1.
This task force was launched in March 2020, as part of the Barkhane counter-terrorism operation in Mali.
It brought together 800 special forces soldiers from ten European countries including France, Belgium, Italy and Estonia.
Takuba's last European soldiers returned home this Thursday, June 30.
According to the staff, this decision is part of the reorganization of the French military system in the Sahel and the end of Operation Barkhane in Mali.
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Although France has made great efforts to maintain the idea of a European commitment in the Sahel, the Takuba task force as it has been set up can no longer function, once Operation Barkhane leaves Mali.
General Pascal Ianni is the spokesman for the French general staff.
“
The Takuba force was intended to act in Mali alongside the Malian armed forces, then independently against armed terrorist groups in the area of the three borders.
Takuba responded to an extremely specific need;
that of Mali at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, at a time when the Fama were facing numerous attacks from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
Today the conditions are different.
What is important is that the European countries and the European armies engaged in the fight against terrorist groups with France, with other actors to help the countries of the region according to the needs they express
.
»
What form for European engagement in the region?
For the time being, it is no longer a question of having a force with European soldiers deployed together on the soil of a Sahelian country.
For two main reasons which are above all political: the sending of soldiers abroad requires a vote of the parliaments of each European country.
A complex and long procedure.
On the other hand, no Sahelian country has so far requested such a system.
According to the French general staff, discussions are nevertheless underway with Niger and the countries of the Gulf of Guinea, for “bi-lateral partnerships”.
As part of the re-articulation of @BARKHANE_OP cessation of operations of TF TAKUBA.
A strategic success: the Europeans together against the GATs in the Sahel.
A tactical success: + 75 operations to prevent the creation of a territorial caliphate in the area of the 3 borders.
pic.twitter.com/EPfTs86PDo
- French Army - Military Operations (@EtatMajorFR) July 1, 2022
Niger had already been mentioned as a base for Takuba.
In any case, statements had been made by President Mohamed Bazoum who said he was open to European collaborations to secure his border with Mali.
The National Assembly has also voted in February a text which prepares the reception of new foreign forces on Nigerien territory.
But Niamey has always demanded an adjustment to its needs.
According to a source close to the Ministry of Defense, discussions are underway with European partners.
In May, the German Chancellor went to Niamey in particular, a few weeks after his Defense Minister.
As a reminder, Operation Barkhane remains in Niger.
It is in particular in Niamey that the French air base is located from where the planes and drones that operate in the Sahel depart.
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mali
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G5 Sahel
Terrorism