Paris defends decision to halve forces in fragile Sahel
France will reduce its forces fighting terrorism in the Sahel by almost half despite a continued extremist threat.
More than 2,000 French troops will be withdrawn and soldiers will begin closing their bases in northern Mali by the end of the year, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday.
“We will remain committed, but to remain committed is also to adapt,” Mr Macron said after an online summit with leaders from the Sahel region.
Sub-Saharan West Africa remains in a fragile state. But with continued political turmoil in the region, especially in Mali, and no apparent end in sight to France’s military operations, Paris has grown frustrated.
Last month, Mr Macron said France was ending its Operation Barkhane mission eight years after it intervened in the Sahel and would operate instead within a broader international alliance.
Mr Macron said the changing nature of the threat, capabilities of local armies and support from other European nations made such a move possible.
“This reconfiguration will begin in the coming weeks. In line with the shift in threat to the south, it will mean a reduction in our military footprint primarily in the north,” he said.
About 2,500 French troops will be left in the Sahel when the drawdown is complete, by early 2022, Mr Macron said.
French commandos will stay to hunt the leaders of groups linked to Al Qaeda or ISIS.
Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum said he supported the French troop reduction.
Mr Macron hopes to convince EU allies to step up their presence, but the withdrawal opens an uncertain phase in the fight against insurgents that control large parts of West Africa.
Mr Macron has previously said military force “cannot be a substitute for political stability”, and had pressed Sahel leaders to win public support by stamping out corruption and restoring government control and services in areas in which extremists had closed schools and driven tens of thousands from their homes.
France has also struggled to train local troops, who remain outmatched by extremists in many areas.
It plans to fold its presence into the Takuba international task force, which comprises about 600 soldiers.
The Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy and Sweden have answered Mr Macron’s calls for contributions to help make Takuba function more like a counter-terrorism mission.
“For many European governments, the current extent of their military involvement in the Sahel already pushes up against political red lines at home,” said Andrew Lebovich, a researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.