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The Malian government asked France on Friday to withdraw its troops from the country “without delay” and “under the supervision of the Malian authorities”. The day before, the French president had announced that the withdrawal of troops from Operation Barkhane would be effective within six months.
The day after Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of the withdrawal of French forces from Mali within six months, the government of Bamako asked Paris on Friday, February 18 to operate to withdraw its forces “without delay”.
Mali has “taken note of the unilateral decision (…) of the French authorities to proceed with the withdrawal of the military forces of Barkhane and Takuba, in violation of the agreements binding France and Mali”, declared on national television a doorman. -speaker of the junta, reading a statement.
“In view of these repeated breaches (of) the defense agreements, the government invites the French authorities to withdraw the Barkhane and Takuba forces from the national territory without delay, under the supervision of the Malian authorities”, said Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, repeating the sentence three times.
France and its partners involved in the fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel announced Thursday in a joint statement their decision to withdraw their military forces from Mali, now judging it impossible to cooperate with the Malian authorities.
French President Emmanuel Macron said closing French bases still present in Mali would take “four to six months”.
With Reuters