Feb 16,2022: President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce France will withdraw its forces from Mali, amid a breakdown in relations with the country’s military leaders.
Macron is expected to announce the decision this week, the Reuters and AFP news agencies reported, citing diplomatic and security sources. Reuters said the decision could be announced as early as Wednesday following a top-level meeting on the Sahel region of Africa in Paris. AFP said it was likely to be announced to coincide with a European Union-African Union summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
The pullout from Mali, with a redeployment of forces to other countries in the region, amounts to a major strategic shift by France, ending a nine-year mission that successive French presidents had argued was crucial for regional and European security.
There have been two coups in Mali since 2020 and ties have worsened since the military reneged on an agreement to organise elections in February and proposed holding onto power until 2025. The regime has also developed closer ties with Russia, including turning to suspected mercenaries from Russia’s private military contractor Wagner, and this month expelled the French ambassador.
A French withdrawal would mean the European special forces Takuba task force would also leave.
A draft document of the plan seen by Reuters, distributed to countries involved in Mali, says that France and its Takuba partners had “decided to commence the coordinated withdrawal of their military resources from Malian territory”.
