According to Agence France-Presse, the French military recently issued a statement saying that on August 15, the last troops of the "Crescent Dune" operation stationed in Mali left Mali and entered Niger.
This marks the completion of France's withdrawal from the West African country of Mali and the end of nine years of anti-terrorist military operations.
The French side said that the French military will continue to fight terrorism in the Sahel region of Africa with the support of Africa and the international community.
Withdrawal due to deteriorating relations
After nine years in existence, the Crescent Dune force was reorganized outside Mali in less than six months, the French Defense Ministry said, according to Radio France Internationale.
Over the past six months, the local French army has handed over all of their areas of control to the Malian army.
France had to remove some 4,000 containers and 1,000 vehicles, including hundreds of armoured vehicles, from Mali due to a spate of violence in the Sahel.
A new ally of the Malian authorities, the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group, is embarking on policing activities in the country.
For nine years, France's counter-terrorism operations in Mali have been directly affected by the relationship between the two countries.
According to Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" website, in March 2012, a coup took place in Mali, and rebels occupied three northern regions.
In January 2013, the rebels invaded the important city of Konna, and the Mali government asked France for help.
In 2014, the then French President Francois Hollande launched Operation Barhan, with the goal of clearing out the local terrorist forces, but the 5,000 French troops deployed to the local area were caught in a tug-of-war for eight years.
After the loss of dozens of French troops, the threat of local terrorism has increased rather than diminished.
In 2020 and 2021, two coups took place in Mali successively, and the relationship between the two countries took a sharp turn for the worse.
In January of this year, the transitional government of Mali formally asked the French ambassador to leave Mali, and the relationship between the two countries broke down immediately.
France then announced on February 17 that it would withdraw its troops from Mali.
The government and the people are dissatisfied with the law
According to Agence France-Presse, on August 14, dozens of people held demonstrations in the Gao region of northern Mali, demanding the French troops leave.
"We issued a 72-hour ultimatum to leave the 'Crescent Dune' forces completely," said the demonstrators, who described themselves as "active forces" in the city of Gao, an area plagued by terrorist violence.
In an interview with this reporter, Yu Wensheng, a researcher at the Institute of African Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, pointed out that the deterioration of relations between the two countries was the direct reason for the withdrawal of French troops.
In addition, President Goita of Mali's transitional government has personally experienced anti-terrorist operations, and believes that France's anti-terrorist operations in recent years have not improved the anti-terrorist situation in Mali, and is unwilling to continue French anti-terrorist operations in Mali.
Anti-French sentiment among the Malian people is on the rise.
Some people believe that the French intervention in Mali is closely related to the division between the north and the south of Mali and the deterioration of the security situation.
"Africa has always played an important role in France's foreign strategy. Politically, France regards the former French colonial countries in West Africa as its traditional sphere of influence, and successive governments have hoped to maintain geopolitical influence in Africa. Economically, France is Africa's Among the main export destination countries in the EU, Africa is one of the main sources of French oil imports. At the military level, France has signed bilateral defense agreements with many West African countries to protect French interests in Africa through necessary military cooperation. Therefore, the withdrawal of French troops from Mali is only a matter of With the adjustment of its military deployment in Africa, it is impossible for France to completely withdraw from West Africa, nor to give up its influence in Africa. In the future, France may transfer its anti-terrorism center to Niger and other West African countries with relatively stable relations with France, and at the same time strengthen its cooperation with France. Armament assistance and military training of West African countries enhance the anti-terrorism capabilities of regional countries and reduce their own burdens.
Filling the safety vacuum is difficult
"The current terrorist threat is spreading in Africa at a very dire rate," said Idris Lalali, Acting Director of the African Union Counter-Terrorism Research Center.
In 2021, violent incidents related to extremist groups in the Sahel region will increase from 1,180 to 2005, an increase of 70%, setting a new record for the number of violent attacks.
Data from the "Locations and Data of Armed Conflicts" project shows that in 2021, terrorist activities in Africa will show obvious spillover characteristics.
"At present, the biggest challenge in fighting terrorism in Africa is the political turmoil in the countries of the Sahel region and the successive coups. In May this year, the transitional government of Mali announced its withdrawal from all institutions of the G5 Sahel, which hindered the operation of the regional anti-terrorism cooperation mechanism. The military strength of the relevant countries Limited and unable to effectively combat extremists. After France withdraws its troops from Mali, it will be difficult for relevant countries to fill the security vacuum left by France.” Yu Wensheng analyzed that under the combined influence of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, economic downturn, political turmoil and other factors, West Africa has Regional terrorist organizations have recently launched a new round of counterattacks, terrorist activities have become more rampant, and the areas affected by terrorist organizations have further expanded.
Moreover, in recent years, France has provided air support, intelligence information, logistics transportation and other cooperation for the United Nations peacekeeping force. The withdrawal of France will cause the United Nations peacekeeping force to lose important support for the peacekeeping mission in West Africa, and the regional security situation will be more severe.