France renews presence in Mali to protect its strategic interests
It is a well-known fact inside French political circles that France cannot do without Africa.
It is also known inside the same
circles that Africa cannot do without France.
These ideas are manifest on the
ground. France is returning to the continent in its bid to curb the spread of terrorist
organizations, especially in the Sahel region.
France is particularly active in
Mali, given the presence of so many shared interests between this African state
and Paris.
France threatened to withdraw from
Mali in June 2021.
Operation Barkhane
In the same context, France announced
on July 23 the killing of two leaders of ISIS in the Greater Sahara in Mali,
during a joint military operation by Barkhane Force in coordination with troops
from the US army.
It said the operation was launched after
intelligence information indicated the hiding place of the two leaders in the
border region of Menaka.
In a statement, French Minister of
Defense, Florence Parly, said the French force had killed the leaders of the
terrorist organization ISIS in the Greater Sahara.
She mentioned the names of the two
leaders as Issa al-Sahrawi, the logistical and financial coordinator of ISIS in
this region, and Abu Rahman al-Sahrawi who was the religious judge of the
organization.
The French are back
With the beginning of July 2021,
France announced the resumption of joint military operations with Mali.
The operations were suspended in
early June 2021.
The French Ministry of Defense said
France decided to resume the joint operations after consulting with the
authorities in Bamako.
Attacks by armed groups on the
African coast claimed the lives of many French soldiers.
The latest of these attacks killed
50 French soldiers from the Barkhane force at the beginning of 2021.
