PARIS\/BAMAKO
\nFrance and military allies said on Thursday they would leave Mali after almost a decade based there fighting Islamist insurgents around West Africa, moving instead to Niger despite public disenchantment with Paris\u2019 role in the region.
\nCoups in Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso have weakened France\u2019s alliances in its former colonies, emboldened jihadists who control large swathes of desert and scrubland, and opened the door to greater Russian influence.
\nDiplomats fear the exit of 2,400 French troops from Mali – the epicentre of violence in the Sahel region and strongholds of both al Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates – could worsen violence, destabilise neighbours and spur migration.
\nA French-led mission of 14 mainly European nations with 600-900 soldiers in Mali is also winding up.
\nPresident Emmanuel Macron said the withdrawal would take four to six months, during which time there would be fewer operations against jihadists.
\nBut he denied France\u2019s mission since 2013, after Islamists captured the fabled city of Timbuktu and imposed hardline sharia law around northern Mali, had been a failure.
\nThe fight would continue from Niger which had agreed to host European forces on the border near Mali and Burkina Faso, Macron told a news conference. \u201cThe heart of this military operation will no longer be in Mali but in Niger … and perhaps in a more balanced way across all the countries of the region which want this (help),\u201d he said.
\n\u2018TERRORISM HAS ENGULFED MALI\u2019
\nRelations between Paris and Bamako have deteriorated since the ruling military junta went back on an agreement to organise an election in February and proposed holding power until 2025. It has also deployed Russian private military contractors, angering some European countries.
\nMali\u2019s armed forces spokesperson Souleymane Dembele shrugged off France\u2019s announcement, saying European troops had failed. \u201cI think that there has been no military solution, because terrorism has engulfed the entire territory of Mali,\u201d he said.
\nThat was echoed by some on the streets, where anti-French sentiment has grown in recent times.
\n\u201cThey have been here for about 10 years and we don\u2019t see any improvement in the security situation,\u201d said Sidiki Bagayoko, a carpenter in Bamako.
\nHowever, senior opposition politician Housseini Guindo said the troops\u2019 departure would lead to a perilous power vacuum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS\/BAMAKO France and military allies said on Thursday they would leave Mali after almost a decade based there fighting Islamist insurgents around West Africa, moving instead to Niger despite public disenchantment with Paris\u2019 role in the region. Coups in Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso have weakened France\u2019s alliances in its former colonies, emboldened jihadists who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-248271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n