Mali

Mali’s prime minister reiterated his claim that France was deserting the West Africa country and accused Paris of failing to contain a deadly Islamist insurgency, in an interview published Monday. Choguel Kokalla Maiga also confirmed that Mali’s ruling junta was unlikely to hold presidential and legislative elections as promised by February 27, 2022, despite warnings from the international community.

France has begun to withdraw troops from its northernmost Malian bases, part of plans to reorganise its forces deployed in the restive Sahel region under "Operation Barkhane". French army bases in Kidal, Tessalit and Timbuktu, in the north of the country, will be closed by the end of the year and handed over to the Malian army.

Paris is accused of abandoning Bamako in its fight against armed groups in the Sahel region.

Mali has summoned France’s ambassador to the country to register its “indignation” at French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent criticism of the country’s government, which is dominated by army figures. Tensions between France and its former colony Mali have been high since it emerged that the Sahel state is in talks with Russian mercenaries.

Officials from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria have agreed to work together to reconstruct the Lake Chad Basin. The region has been a hotbed of insecurity due to attacks from Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram and its offshoots.

The Sahel is a crowded region from a geopolitical perspective. There are several different international military missions, and more than 7 countries are involved in development and security projects. At the same time the actions of many different kinds of non-state actors are undermining the region’s stability.

Add U.S. military officials to the crescendo of voices warning Mali's interim government against brokering any deal to use mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group to help with security and counterterrorism.

The UN Secretary-General has condemned an attack against peacekeepers in Mali on Saturday which left one Egyptian ‘blue helmet’ dead, and four others seriously injured.

[…] This report maps Europe’s security assistance approach in the G5 Sahel countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. It analyses its political drivers, risks and impacts, and identifies lessons and recommendations in response.