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SAHEL

France figures out how to get its soldiers safely out of Mali

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“The Sahel threatened by a jihadist tornado”

SAHEL

The Sahel threatened by a jihadist tornado

As the Sahel security crisis worsens, with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) increasingly active, the states in the region find themselves in an ever more vulnerable position. In an attempt to stem the flow of jihadist propaganda which now risks overflowing into the coastal states, a number of security operations have been launched, among them Operation Barkhane, the G5 Sahel joint force, MINUSMA, and the Coalition for the Sahel. [...]

The Niamey base in Niger could become the nerve centre of French operations. © Frédéric Speich/La Provence/PhotoPQR/MaxPPP

The withdrawal of French troops from Mali presents a major logistical challenge, with an increased risk of attacks by Islamic militants. The military has been examining various scenarios over the past few weeks. [...] (913 words)

Issue dated 17/02/2022 Reading time 4 minutes

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Read this article here:

Defence

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Barkhane
BIMa
Blaise Compaoré
CPCO
Emmanuel Macron
European Union
Florence Parly
G5 Sahel
Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
Iyad ag Ghali
Minusma
Mohamed Bazoum
Thierry Burkhard
United Nations

Chad, Togo and Ivory Coast vie for blue helmet contracts

Amid Europe's gradual military withdrawal from Mali and as peacekeeping needs grow in the Central African Republic, three states are jostling for lucrative troop contribution contracts. But the UN's strict rules on equipment and training place tall hurdles in the way of their ambitions. [...]

WEST AFRICA 10/05/2022

Paris uses Beninese airports for Barkhane withdrawal

The first discreet nightly rotations took place from 1 to 7 May at Kandi airport, in northern Benin, which is currently used as a platform for French jumbo jets coming from Mali and heading for Niger, the final destination of the French equipment. [...]

WEST AFRICA 09/05/2022

Barkhane withdrawal puts MINSUMA medical services on the spot

The withdrawal of French Barkhane troops from Mali and the dismantling of its military hospital in Gao means that MINUSMA will have to reorganise medical logistics for its peacekeepers. [...]

MADAGASCAR 28/04/2022

French diplomat to head up EU delegation in Madagascar

In post since 2018, the European Union's Italian ambassador in Antananarivo, Giovanni Di Girolamo, will be stepping down this summer. [...]

WEST AFRICA SENEGAL 19/04/2022

Dakar, the post-Barkhane experiment

In parallel with the withdrawal from Mali, the French army will strengthen the role the Eléments Français au Sénégal's 400 soldiers, whose current boss, General Michel Delpit, will leave his post in the middle of this year. [...]

Dakar is home to 350 French soldiers from the EFS. © Facebook/Eléments français au Sénégal

WEST AFRICA 07/04/2022

Bolloré's French army foreign operations' contract renewed for over €200m

After much hemming and hawing, French Bolloré Logistics has renewed its contract with the French army in Sahel. [...]

GUINEA 28/03/2022

Junta making slow work of installing post-Condé ambassadorial line-up

Although most of Guinea's ambassadors were recalled in early February, none of them has so far returned to Conakry. Interim president Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya is nevertheless pursuing his efforts little by little to change his country's diplomatic line-up abroad. [...]

MALI 16/03/2022

Washington sends a mission to Bamako to discuss MINUSMA, Wagner

A US delegation led by the assistant secretary of state for international organisation affairs, Michele J. Sison, is scheduled to travel to Mali next week to meet with several officials in the country. [...]

The head of multilateral organisations at the State Department, Michele J. Sison. © US Department of State

WEST AFRICA 15/03/2022

Ukrainian Antonovs still supplying French forces in the Sahel, for now

Redeployed to reinforce NATO's eastern flank, Ukrainian operator Antonov Airlines' surviving fleet of An-124s are also backing France's military efforts in Africa. But the clock is ticking... [...]

Breaking newsFRANCE SAHEL 11/02/2022

Paris and EU fix date of Mali pullout

Breaking news, published on 11/02/2022 at 17:40 - On the eve of the upcoming EU-AU summit, Emmanuel Macron is expected bring together leaders from Europe and the Sahel on 16 February to discuss the future of the French and European presence in the region. [...]

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum (L) at a G5 summit on 9 July 2021. © Stéphane de Sakutin/Pool/EPA/Newscom/MaxPPP

Focus

WEST AFRICA SAHEL 03/01/2022

Trapped in Sahel logistics nightmare, French army seeks way out

In November, one of the French army's convoys that came to support the Barkhane force by road was attacked by locals. For the past two months, French military planners have been working on scenarios to keep its troops supplied in the Sahel without provoking any new unrest. [...]

MALI 23/12/2021

German army to deploy CH-53 helicopters to Gao next summer

Germany's MINUSMA contingents stationed in Gao will be taking delivery of several heavy-lift transport helicopters, thereby reducing their reliance on private contractors and affording Berlin more flexibility to follow its own path in this troubled region. [...]

SAHEL FRANCE 24/06/2021

Paris prepares for end of Operation Barkhane via UN, EU and G5 Sahel

Following President Macron's announcement on 10 June of France's plans to end Operation Barkhane, the French presidency is trying to mobilise its partners regarding the situation in the Sahel. French diplomats have begun a major operation to persuade the European Union, the UN and the African Union to get more involved in the region, with a Sahel Coalition summit coming up in July and France due to take the chair of the UN Security Council on 1 July. [...]

French president Emmanuel Macron. © Nicolas Landemard/Le Pictorium/MAXPPP

On our other sites

Intelligence Online 25/01/2022

Amarante to monitor influence operations in the Sahel for French defence ministry

The ministry of armed forces has hired the French security group Amarante to conduct a study of the networks and relays of influence in G5 Sahel countries. The French government is increasingly concerned about foreign interference campaigns in the region, where it has plans for its own strategy of influence. [...]

Receive free prompts for these topics

Barkhane
BIMa
Blaise Compaoré
CPCO
Emmanuel Macron
European Union
Florence Parly
G5 Sahel
Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
Iyad ag Ghali
Minusma
Mohamed Bazoum
Thierry Burkhard
United Nations

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France figures out how to get its soldiers safely out of Mali