What strategy for France in the Sahel?

The French Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Armed Forces will travel to Niger on Thursday July 14 and Friday July 15 to establish a new strategy for France in the Sahel following the withdrawal of French troops from Mali, while the West African coastal states face the growing threat of Islamist armed groups.

The coups of recent months in Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso have weakened France's alliances with its former colonies, strengthened the grip of jihadist militias in the region and paved the way for increased influence of the Russia.

The scheduled departure by the end of the summer of 2,400 French soldiers from Mali, the epicenter of violence in the Sahel and stronghold of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State group in the Greater Sahara, raises fears of an increase in violence and fear of destabilization of neighboring countries.

A few days before July 14, my interview with @leJDD:



🇺🇦 Support for Ukraine


📉 Reflection on our arms industry


🇳🇪 Continuation of the fight against terrorism in the Sahel and redeployment of our forces from Mali to Niger



👉 For read it: https://t.co/w5PNr6U6Sr pic.twitter.com/49x30sWSKk

– Sebastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) July 10, 2022

Consulting

Niger, where Catherine Colonna and Sébastien Lecornu are expected Thursday evening, will become the hub of the French military operation in the region, with a thousand men based in Niamey as well as combat planes, drones and helicopters .

Three to four hundred soldiers will be deployed for special operations with the Niger army in the border regions with Burkina Faso and Mali, French officials said during a briefing with journalists.

A contingent of 700 to 1,000 men will be based in Chad at the same time, and an unspecified number of special forces soldiers will continue to operate elsewhere in the region.

French forces will no longer conduct missions - and will no longer pursue armed activists - in Malian territory once the withdrawal is complete, the officials added.

12:33

Niagalé Bagayoko, guest of Afrique Hebdo.

© France 24

“Beyond Mali, the democratic backsliding in West Africa is extremely worrying with successive putsches in Mali twice, in Guinea in September 2021, in Burkina Faso in January of this year.

France will nevertheless continue despite these events, this withdrawal from Mali, to help the West African armies to fight against terrorist groups, declared Catherine Colonna on Tuesday during a hearing at the National Assembly.

“We are currently conducting consultations with our partners concerned to define with them, according to their requests and their needs, the nature of the support that we can provide them,” she added.

Financial support 

The objective is to present a new strategy to Emmanuel Macron in September, according to a French diplomatic source.

"Security, good governance and development are inseparable, so our strategy in the Sahel must consist of simultaneously helping African armies to fight against terrorist groups, supporting the presence of the State in neglected areas, supporting the justice and the rule of law and to invest in the economic development of these countries", underlined Catherine Colonna.

The two ministers will announce the release of aid of 50 million euros to improve the electricity network in Niger as well as budgetary support.

A major source of questioning concerns the countries of the Gulf of Guinea such as Benin, Togo and the Ivory Coast, which in turn have recently been targeted by attacks, and the way in which France and the Europeans could come to their aid.

At this stage, no formal request for additional military assistance has been made.

Some European countries have shown interest in pursuing regional operations post-Mali, French officials said.

Sébastien Lecornu will travel to Côte d'Ivoire on Saturday, and Emmanuel Macron will probably travel to Benin at the end of July, said Catherine Colonna.

With AFP

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