France has temporarily suspended joint military operations with the Malian forces, we were told on Thursday 3 June by the French Ministry of Defense and specified that this decision was linked to the political transition taking place in Mali and that it will be reconsidered in the coming days.
“Requirements and red lines have been drawn up” by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union to “clarify the framework for the political transition in Mali”, the ministry said. “It is up to the Malian authorities to respond quickly.”
“Pending these guarantees, France (…) has decided, as a precautionary and temporary measure, to suspend joint military operations with the Malian forces as well as national advisory missions in their favor,” the ministry added. “All our planning and programming officers in the Malian Armed Forces, as well as our liaison officers in the army and the DGSE,” added a senior French military source.
Paris is therefore awaiting a response from the Malian authorities to the demands made in recent days by the region and the African Union. On Monday, the AU called on Malian troops to “return immediately and unconditionally to their barracks” and to lay down the conditions for a return to a democratic transition “without hindrance, transparently and swiftly”. ECOWAS, for its part, demanded the immediate appointment of a Prime Minister from civil society.
The French Ministry of Defense clarified that “these decisions will be re-evaluated in the coming days in the light of the responses provided by the Malian authorities”.
The issue of an “inclusive and republican” transition
By taking these measures, France clearly wants to demand an inclusive transition that must be completed in nine months. The republican nature of the state is another demand from France which confirms that it will not stay in Mali if Islamism takes precedence over democracy. Several civilian and military personalities were interviewed in Bamako by our correspondent Serge Daniel do not hide the fact that everything will be done to respect the commitments so that the repeal measures are repealed.
These measures were announced to the military hierarchy “from Wednesday night”, admits an officer stationed at the Ministry of Defense, who insists on the announcement of an “unexpected decision”. “We did not expect that. On the ground, France is our ally against terrorism. But without logistics, intelligence, the fight remains ineffective, “analyzes another officer assigned to the field in central Mali.
In the immediate president of the round, Colonel Assimi Goïta, we would rather avoid comments, as if behind the scenes contact with Paris is maintained so that everything is as before. This is probably the meaning to be given to the declaration of a civilian member of the President’s cabinet: “Mali will continue to work for the success of an inclusive and republican transition”.
Without a government since last week due to the coup, there is no minister talking about the Paris decision. Senior officials from some departments hope that there will be a summer storm between Paris and Bamako. On the political side, there is currently no official reaction. But two interviewers interviewed separately are urging Mali to have its own defenses to ensure its security.
This announcement in Paris comes after Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche that the question of the withdrawal of the French army in Mali arose after the new military clean-up in Bamako in May. The head of state also emphasized earlier this week that the French army alone could not fight terrorism in the Sahel and that its presence on the ground required the strengthening of stable and legitimate institutions.
The interim president and prime minister of Mali has resigned last week, two days after the arrest of the Malian army after a change of government, which intensified the political crisis in the country.
Military Operational Partnerships (PMO), the center of the system
Military cooperation with Mali is important in the fight against terrorist groups, as the operational military partnerships aim to train the Malian army and follow it in combat. This shutdown is a thunderclap at the Sahel Theater. Thanks to PMOs, the Malian armed forces have gradually managed to return to the game. And to achieve this, the road was difficult, it was almost necessary to start from an empty side. In fact, in 2013, Fama was bloodless, and until the end of 2019, in the face of the aggressive pressure from terrorist groups, they were still gathering setbacks.
The Pau summit in January 2020 therefore made military cooperation one of its pillars. The goal then was to restore confidence in the Malian soldiers, to offer them victories as the French General Staff said. And in order to allow the Malian forces to move in the market, Barkhane was commissioned not only to train the Malian regiments but above all to follow them in battle.
For 18 months, this collaboration has grown and had some success. Of the three combined weapons battle groups it deploys, the Barkhane force devotes only one to operational military partnerships for the benefit of the Malian and Nigerian armed forces. Since the Pau summit, the empowerment of Sahelian forces has been at the heart of France’s strategy. The future of the Barkhane force therefore depends on this military cooperation.
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