End of Barkhane's withdrawal: reactions in Mali
French soldiers finishing their deployment in Mali (Illustrative image).
© AP - Jerome Delay
Text by: David Baché
2 mins
After nine years of presence, the French army has completed its withdrawal from Mali after being pushed out by the Malian transitional authorities, resulting from the military coup of 2020. The base of Gao, in the North, the last to be still occupied by the French Barkhane force, is now in the hands of the Malian army.
A departure that aroused enthusiastic reactions, but also worried in the country.
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The Front for Emergence and Renewal in Mali (Fer-Mali) was among the first organizations to demand the
withdrawal of the French Barkhane force
.
His wishes were granted by the Malian authorities of transition, of which Fer-Mali is a faithful support.
Today, Sory Ibrahima Traoré, president of Fer-Mali, is therefore very satisfied.
“
The departure of the last of Bakhane, in the eyes of all those who demanded the departure of the French forces, is for us a historic victory.
We had reached a point in the collaboration and in the collective consciousness of the Malians where the presence of the Barkhane force was not well perceived
, ”
he explains at the microphone of RFI.
“
This departure, for us, is a new departure for our generation.
Mali and the Malians will make it their duty to fill the void that this will create
”.
Dealing with the increase in attacks
Now, it is the departure of Minusma, the UN mission in the country, that Fer-Mali is asking for, like other Malian political or civil society organizations.
However, this enthusiasm is not unanimous.
Off the microphone, for fear of reprisals, many Malians, especially in the north of the country, express their fears.
Despite a sometimes critical look at Barkhane's record, those believe that the Malian army, even with its
Russian auxiliaries
, will be less able to protect populations from jihadist attacks.
Several hundred civilians have been killed in the Ménaka region in recent months, at least 264 according to the United Nations, between 300 and 500 according to various Malian security or civilian sources.
Forty two Malian soldiers were also assassinated in Tessit, Gao region, less than a week ago, in an attack attributed by Bamako to the Islamic State group.
As for the Malian transitional authorities, they have not officially commented on the end of this withdrawal of the Barkhane force.
►
To read also: In Mali, the increasingly frequent terrorist attacks in the south of the country
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