France looks for way to continue war on terrorism in African Sahel
Paris continues its attempts to
solve the security crisis in the African Sahel region in the face of the
widespread expansion of terrorist groups, as French Armed Forces Minister
Florence Parly announced that her country must “find a way” to continue the
goal of combating terrorists in West Africa.
“In the Sahel region, the security
situation is still difficult, and it is now complicated by the unfavorable
political situation in Mali,” the minister said in her statements, adding, “We
will have to find a way, despite these difficulties, to pursue the task we set
for ourselves, which West African countries are asking for our support: the
fight against terrorism.”
The African Sahel region suffers
from various turmoil at the security and political levels, especially the
Republic of Mali, which is erupting in an international conflict, especially
against the background of the intertwined interests of France and Russia in the
region.
Importance of
cooperation in fight against terrorism
Through its strong military
participation in the African Sahel region with the G5 countries, which include
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, France stressed the importance
of cooperation in the fight against terrorism, while many countries neighboring
Mali suffer from violence, such as the Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin.
“More than ever, we have a
responsibility to bear towards these countries, as well as towards all
partners, especially the Europeans who engage with us in the Sahel,” Parly
said.
The junta that came to power in Mali
in 2020 following a coup does not intend to restore power to civilians in the
short term, and this angered the countries of the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS), which adopted heavy sanctions against Bamako.
It is likely that the European Union
will resort to the same step under pressure from France, and at the request of
Paris, a number of European countries agreed to engage in Mali during the past
two years, especially by participating in the joint Takuba Task Force, which
brings together European special forces to accompany the Malian forces in the
fight.
Warnings
against using Wagner's services
The African Sahel region represents
a wide influence for France, linked to a set of factors such as language and
ancient political dependency, but for a while the region witnessed an
international struggle between Paris and Moscow, with the latter entering as a
competitor in the region amid different persuasions of the political
leadership.
On September 29, 2021, Parly warned
the Malian government against using the services of the Russian security
company Wagner Group, threatening it with international isolation and loss of
support if its relationship extended with the Russian company, which the French
administration described as mercenaries.
Tensions escalated between the
French and Malian governments against the backdrop of Malian Prime Minister
ChoguelKokalla Maiga accusing the French administration of abandoning his
country in what he described as “midway.” He said at the United Nations General
Assembly on September 26, 2021, that France’s decision to withdraw the Barkhane
force represented an abandonment of his country.
Maiga also expressed his regret that
Paris did not respect the principle of consultation before its decision to
withdraw its forces from the country, denouncing its unilateral stance towards
the security crisis that the country is going through.
For his part, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov said that it was the Malian government that requested
the help of the private Russian company, and that the Russian government had
nothing to do with this matter, pointing out the impact of the French
withdrawal on Mali’s decision.
Despite Paris' decision to reduce
its military presence in Mali, Parly stressed that her country will not leave
Mali completely, but rather is determined to fight terrorist groups in the
region in cooperation with the Malian government and its military forces.
