Mali

President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France will withdraw its troops from Mali nine years after it first intervened to drive Islamic extremists from power but intends to maintain a military presence in neighboring West African nations. … European leaders simultaneously announced Thursday that troops from the European-led military task force known as Takuba also would withdraw from Mali.

In maps.

EU countries are intensifying talks on how to deal with an increasingly hostile junta in Mali that has deepened ties with Russian mercenaries.

Mali's transitional government has created working groups with members of West Africa's regional bloc, the African Union and the United Nations to work toward a return to constitutional order, it said on Wednesday.

Mali's prime minister on Monday accused France of having sought the partition of the west African country during its military mission there, the latest flare-up in relations between Paris and Bamako.

Germany's defense minister on Sunday expressed doubt as to whether Germany's military mission in Mali can continue. Christine Lambrecht told German broadcaster ZDF: "I am currently very skeptical about whether we can actually continue to be involved on the ground. I don't have the impression that we are welcome any longer."

The EU has blacklisted Mali's prime minister as it struggles to maintain influence in the strategic and mineral-rich Sahel region in West Africa.

The chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Thursday that a coup in Mali was "contagious" and had set a dangerous trend that led to subsequent coups in the region.

[…] While mandates from international coalitions aim to restore stability, governance and security to the country, a misinterpretation of the relationship between violent extremism and organized crime has led to an emphasis on technical, militarized approaches that do not adequately consider consequential dynamics on the ground.

At the 4th Extraordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held in Accra, Ghana, on January 9, 2022, to review the political situation in Mali, additional sanctions were imposed on the country due to the failure of the transitional authorities to take the necessary steps to organize presidential elections before February 27, 2022.