France resumes cooperation with Malian forces after month of suspension
After a second putsch in nine months, France declared a month ago to suspend joint operations with Malian forces.
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France, of which more than 5,000 soldiers are deployed in the Sahel, will resume its joint operations with the Malian armed forces, the Ministry of the Armed Forces announced on Friday (July 2nd). The country suspended bilateral cooperation following a second coup in Mali in May.
“Following consultations with the Malian transitional authorities and the countries of the region, France takes note of the commitments of the Malian transitional authorities” endorsed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), explains a press release. Paris has therefore “decided to resume joint military operations as well as national advisory missions, which had been suspended since June 3.”
European special forces grouping
After a second putsch in nine months which made Colonel Assimi Goïta the head of this crucial state for the stability of the region, France declared in June to suspend joint operations with the Malian forces, with which it has cooperated for years against the jihadists.
President Emmanuel Macron recently announced France’s gradual disengagement from the Sahel. The French anti-jihadist force Barkhane will disappear in favor of a tightened device, focused on the fight against terrorism and support in the fight of local armies. To reduce the sails in the Sahel, France is counting heavily on the rise of the group of European special forces Takuba, created at the initiative of Paris to accompany Malian units in combat.
