France warns of the African Sahel region collapse with the decline of its presence and the escalation of the activities of jihadist organizations
France warned Friday, through the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Lecornu, of the collapse of the African Sahel region in light of the escalation of the activities of jihadist organizations and the decline of Paris’s presence in the wake of a series of military coups in some of its countries.
In an interview by French Le Parisien newspaper on its website on Friday evening, Lecornu considered that the withdrawal of French military forces from Mali, Burkina Faso, and soon Niger, isn’t considered a failure of French policy as much as it’s a failure for the three countries that witnessed military coups in recent years.
He said, “The military regime in Mali preferred Wagner over the French army… We saw the result: the Bamako area has since been surrounded by jihadists”.
He added, “The coast is threatened with collapse… All of this will end badly for the military councils ruling in the three countries”.
He continued, “And they tell us that the problem is France! We were the solution to security in the Sahel region,” he said.
Lecornu noted that France was able to eliminate many jihadist cells in the region and provide security for thousands of civilians before it was forced to withdraw its military forces.
He said, “Asking us to leave was enough for terrorism to resume its activity… 2,500 deaths linked to terrorism have been recorded in Burkina Faso since the military coup in September 2022”.
He warned that Mali is on the brink of division, and Niger, unfortunately, will follow it on the same path”.
Lecornu asked, “Are we held responsible if some local parties prefer clan conflicts and disdain for democracy, instead of combating terrorism? I don’t think so”.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced this week the withdrawal of his country’s ambassador from Niamey and the departure of the 1,500 French soldiers stationed in Niger by the end of the year, after two months of tension with the coup plotters who overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum in late July.
This withdrawal is the latest setback for Paris, which was previously expelled from Mali and Burkina Faso, bringing the curtain down on a decade of military intervention to combat jihadists in the region, according to analysts.
According to many observers, Paris didn’t notice or didn’t want to see the developments taking place in the region that includes Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Niger and Mauritania.
