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France and Allies to Begin Withdrawal From Mali France Announces Troop Withdrawal From Mali After 9-Year Campaign
(about 7 hours later)
France and several of its Western allies said on Thursday that they would begin a “coordinated withdrawal” of their military forces from Mali, capping months of an increasingly bitter breakdown in relations with the country’s ruling junta and throwing into uncertainty regional antiterrorism operations spearheaded by French armed forces. PARIS — France announced on Thursday that it would pull out its troops from the West African nation of Mali, bringing to a bitter end a nine-year military mission that has failed to quash a terrorist threat in the increasingly unstable region and has undermined France’s once dominant standing in many of its former African colonies.
Jihadist groups have spread across Mali, in West Africa, and to the country’s neighbors, even as a coalition of Western and African militaries has tried to fight them, but France, its European partners and Canada have nevertheless “taken the decision to withdraw their military presence in Mali,” said the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on Thursday. The announcement followed a rapid breakdown in relations between France and Mali’s military rulers, and it threw into uncertainty regional antiterrorism operations spearheaded by France and backed by Western allies.
The accelerated pullout, a far quicker and bumpier withdrawal than France had anticipated, could give ground to terrorist groups, which have grown in numbers and reach over the past decade, killing thousands of civilians and displacing millions. It also raises questions about the use of a military-first approach in a complex crisis with deep social roots. Jihadist groups have continued to spread across Mali and neighboring countries, as France’s military presence has grown increasingly unpopular. Mali’s leaders, to France’s great chagrin, have turned for help to Russia — a resurgent power on the continent that had already supplanted France’s dominance in another former colony, the Central African Republic.
The withdrawal comes amid a spiraling diplomatic crisis. France accused Mali of employing the services of a controversial Russian paramilitary company, the Wagner group, and railed against the junta that came to power in 2020, saying it was “out of control.” Mali, which denies hosting Russian mercenaries, accused France of abandoning it in the fight against jihadists, and expelled the French ambassador. France’s pullout from Mali had been dreaded in Paris, not only for its geopolitical implications, but also for its powerful symbolism: a humiliating withdrawal of French soldiers from a part of the world where its influence long stood unchallenged, but where it is quickly eroding before newcomers that include China, Turkey and Germany — as well as Russia.
Finally, France pulled the plug, accusing Mali of obstructing its operations. The withdrawal of troops had appeared inevitable in recent weeks, after the French foreign minister called Mali’s military leaders “out of control,” and they retaliated by expelling the French ambassador, who was given only 72 hours to leave Malian soil.
At a news conference, Mr. Macron expressed frustration with the Malian junta and said that the breakdown in relations had prompted France and its allies to rethink their strategy and reorganize their forces. With presidential elections in France less than two months away, the French government had hoped to avoid any comparisons to the chaotic pullout by American troops from Afghanistan last year. France was careful to make the announcement after meeting with African leaders the night before and to portray the development as a “coordinated withdrawal” of France and its allies.
France sent troops into Mali, a landlocked former French colony, in 2013 to beat back armed Islamists who had taken over its northern cities. Mali, which has longstanding ties to France and a large immigrant population there, had requested the intervention. At a news conference, President Emmanuel Macron of France expressed frustration with Mali’s leaders — who came to power after two successive coups in the last 20 months — and said that the breakdown in relations had prompted France and its allies to rethink their strategy and reorganize their forces.
But after successfully routing extremists from the cities, France decided to stay on, and the scope of its mission mushroomed. Over 4,000 French soldiers are currently deployed across the Sahel, a wide strip of land that cuts across Africa just below the Sahara. Most of them are in Mali, where there is also a 15,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force. “We cannot remain militarily engaged with de facto authorities whose strategy and hidden objectives we do not share,” Mr. Macron said at the news conference on Thursday, which came after a dinner on Wednesday evening between the French leader and Western and African counterparts, and ahead of a summit between European Union and African Union leaders in Brussels.
“We cannot remain militarily engaged with de facto authorities whose strategy and hidden objectives we do not share,” Mr. Macron said at the news conference, which came after a dinner on Wednesday evening between the French leader and Western and African counterparts, and ahead of a summit between European Union and African Union leaders in Brussels. But in Mali and in the rest of the region, the pullout will be seen as a defeat — not just of any foreign power, but of France, which, in its complicated post-colonial relations with its former colonies, still looms large in the lives and minds of many Africans.
France’s hasty retreat will likely be hailed as a major victory by the jihadist groups: the withdrawal of foreign forces is one of its two main demands, along with a transformation of society and politics in line with a particular interpretation of Shariah law. “They may be saying that they’re choosing to leave, but really from the Malian perspective, they’re being kicked out,” said Hannah Armstrong, an independent analyst focused on the Sahel region, a wide strip of land that cuts across Africa just below the Sahara.
But it could also be welcomed by the junta, which has capitalized on growing anti-France sentiment by the Malian public, which holds France partly responsible for worsening security and corruption among the political elites that the military overthrew. France’s hasty retreat will likely be hailed as a major victory by the jihadist groups: The withdrawal of foreign forces is one of their two main demands, along with a transformation of society and politics in line with their strict interpretation of Shariah law, said Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, a Sahel analyst for the International Crisis Group.
“They may be saying that they’re choosing to leave, but really from the Malian perspective, they’re being kicked out,” said Hannah Armstrong, an independent analyst focused on the Sahel region. But it could also be welcomed by Mali’s military rulers, who have capitalized on growing anti-France sentiment by the Malian public, which holds France partly responsible for worsening security, and corruption among the political elites that the military overthrew.
Mr. Macron said that three military bases in Mali would be shuttered over the next four to six months, in coordination with Malian forces.Mr. Macron said that three military bases in Mali would be shuttered over the next four to six months, in coordination with Malian forces.
While he said that France and its allies were still discussing how their forces would be redeployed, he suggested that there would be a pivot to neighboring Niger and a bigger focus on countries in the Gulf of Guinea, as well as on programs to help civilian populations before military operations become necessary.While he said that France and its allies were still discussing how their forces would be redeployed, he suggested that there would be a pivot to neighboring Niger and a bigger focus on countries in the Gulf of Guinea, as well as on programs to help civilian populations before military operations become necessary.
“The expectations of our partners have changed,” Mr. Macron said. “The sensibility of public opinion in countries of the region has also changed.”
Amadou Albert Maïga, the parliamentary secretary for Mali’s National Transition Council — a temporary legislative body set up by the junta — said the withdrawal announcement was “predictable given the diplomatic tensions between our two countries,” amid a growing feeling among the population that France wanted to interfere in Malian affairs.
“We exchanged with France, a brethren country, but unfortunately French authorities did not understand,” he said.
Beginning in Mali in 2012, terrorist groups across the Sahel took up arms against their governments, taking advantage of existing grievances held by marginalized communities, recruiting young men with few prospects and cowing villages in rural areas into submission.Beginning in Mali in 2012, terrorist groups across the Sahel took up arms against their governments, taking advantage of existing grievances held by marginalized communities, recruiting young men with few prospects and cowing villages in rural areas into submission.
Groups in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso attack armies who are ill trained or poorly equipped to maintain security in the vast tracts of land that comprise the sand-swept region, and whose own abuses often make things worse. The jihadists also attack civilians; massacres have become a regular occurrence. Insurgent groups in Mali, as well as in neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, have attacked armies that are ill trained or poorly equipped to maintain security in the vast tracts of land that comprise the sand-swept region, and whose own abuses often make things worse. The militants also attack civilians; massacres have become a regular occurrence.
When France sent troops into Mali, the soldiers received an ecstatic welcome. Their campaign was only supposed to last a few weeks. France sent troops into Mali in 2013 to beat back armed Islamist extremists who had taken over its northern cities, and France’s soldiers initially received an ecstatic welcome. Mali had requested the intervention. The campaign had been expected to last only a few weeks.
Nearly 10 years later, thousands of French soldiers are still there, housed in sprawling air-conditioned bases, operating aircraft including drones, and traversing the scrub in state-of-the-art armored cars. They are searching for insurgent groups armed with assault rifles and moving on motorcycles whose members have proved stubbornly elusive despite the stream of jihadist leaders that France reports it has killed. But after successfully routing extremists from the cities, France decided to stay on, and the scope of its mission mushroomed. Now, over 4,000 French soldiers are currently deployed across the Sahel. Most of them were in Mali, where there is also a 15,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force.
The military coalition, led by France and Mali but including other West African and European armies, too, had long been failing to stem the tide, and worsening security was one of the factors that led to Mali’s coup in August 2020. As its counterterrorism mission in the Sahel, Operation Barkhane, was prolonged, the popularity of the French-led intervention plummeted. The military coalition, led by France and Mali but comprising other West African and European armies, had long been failing to stem the tide, and worsening security was one of the factors that led to Mali’s coup in August 2020. As its counterterrorism mission in the Sahel, Operation Barkhane, was prolonged, the popularity of the French-led intervention plummeted.
“Ten years into this crisis, it’s pretty clear that everybody’s Sahel strategy has failed lamentably,” said Ornella Moderan, the head of the Sahel Program of the Institute for Security Studies.“Ten years into this crisis, it’s pretty clear that everybody’s Sahel strategy has failed lamentably,” said Ornella Moderan, the head of the Sahel Program of the Institute for Security Studies.
France announced last June that it would begin to draw down its troops fighting under Barkhane, which receives operational support from the United States. As the mission risked turning into a quagmire, France announced last June that it would begin to draw down its troops fighting under Barkhane, which receives operational support from the United States.
But even as Barkhane wound down, a European task force spearheaded by the French, called Takuba, prepared to begin. Takuba brought together Special Forces from several European nations to take part in the fight against jihadists in the region — a burden that Mr. Macron had been keen to share with Western allies as French public opinion increasingly questioned France’s purpose in the region. Mr. Macron has spoken emphatically about wanting to reset France’s relations with Africa and build ties outside its traditional sphere of influence, especially with Nigeria and other economically dynamic English-speaking nations.
Mr. Macron has no shortage of political opponents ahead of presidential elections in April. But many have agreed that France’s position in Mali had become untenable. France’s diplomatic power rests largely on its influence in its former African colonies, along with its nuclear arms and its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. With an eye on the elections in France, Mr. Macron was eager to burnish his image by meeting recently face to face with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to discuss the Ukraine crisis, even as Russia is believed to be hurting France where it may matter most: in Africa.
“Our mission in the Sahel to fight against Islamism isn’t over,” Valérie Pécresse, a right-wing candidate in the elections, told the LCI television broadcaster. “However, I think the way France is treated by the Malian junta isn’t dignified, and one can’t pay the price of blood for a country that doesn’t want you.” Between 800 to 1,000 mercenaries belonging to the Russian Wagner group are now believed to be in Mali, and their numbers are expected to grow, according to senior U.S. defense officials. France said the mercenaries were invited by Mali’s military rulers, who have denied the accusation.
Now even Takuba’s future is uncertain: Mr. Macron said that some of that operation’s forces would be repositioned in Niger, but under what name or with what mandate was unclear. The Wagner Group — a private military force founded by a former Russian intelligence officer and linked to an associate of Mr. Putin — has played a key role in bringing the Central African Republic, another former French colony, into Russia’s sphere of influence.
The Western countries said in a statement that they remained “committed to supporting Mali and its people in their efforts to achieve sustainable peace and stability” but that the country’s new leaders were responsible for “multiple obstructions” and that the current conditions meant that they could no longer contribute to the fight against terrorism there. But France’s loss of influence in Mali — bordering a group of nations that formed the core of France’s former colonial empire — is far more significant. It was at the heart of what was once known as “la Françafrique,” the neocolonial entity formed by France and its former colonies, bound together in a web of collusive economic and political ties.
The statement added that the countries would continue their coordinated action against terrorism in the broader region, with new terms to be established by June 2022. By coincidence, the announcement of the pullout occurred on the same day as another milestone in the history of France in Africa. In a French village in Brittany, Vincent Bolloré, a French industrialist who for decades embodied “la Françafrique,” was to hold a much publicized party celebrating the 200th anniversary of his family firm and marking his upcoming retirement.
In light of the withdrawal, it appeared that Mali’s military partnerships would now shrink to those with other African countries and with Russia. For decades, his company, Bolloré Africa Logistics, controlled the ports and transportation infrastructure across swathes of the continent, making Mr. Bolloré one of the most powerful businessmen in Africa and close to African and French presidents alike. With Mr. Bolloré’s retirement, his company is moving to sell its African businesses to MSC, an Italian-Swiss company.
Referring to the Malian junta, Mr. Macron said, “The fight against terrorism cannot justify everything,” such as attempts to “indefinitely remain in power” and the use of violent mercenaries, a reference to the Wagner group, a Russia-backed mercenary organization that France has accused of operating in Mali. A few weeks ago, French and African news media reported that one of Mr. Bolloré’s sons and the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy quietly visited Alassane Ouattara, the president of the Ivory Coast, to discuss the sale — in what was perhaps, with the pullout from Mali, another development in the closing chapters of “la Françafrique.”
Analysts said, however, that the withdrawal could provide an opportunity for alternative approaches to stemming the spread of jihadist groups, including the possibility of dialogue with the militants, for example, and the implementation of a long-neglected peace agreement with rebel groups in Mali’s north. Norimitsu Onishi and Aurelien Breeden reported from Paris, and Ruth Maclean from Dakar. Mady Camara contributed reporting from Dakar and Adèle Cordonnier contributed research from Paris.
Mady Camara contributed reporting from Dakar and Adèle Cordonnier contributed research from Paris.