As Mali government bans the activities of “Non-Governmental Organizations” (NGOs) which receive financial support from France, German soldiers will leave Mali by the end of 2023 at the latest.
In Mali, the government’s decision to ban the activities of NGOs backed by France came after France cut off its development assistance to Mali. Paris cited Russian security company Wagner’s presence in the country as a reason for cutting aid.
Government Spokesperson Abdoulaye Maiga said France’s claims were unfounded and were made with the aim of manipulating public opinion.
“This is a ploy to deceive and manipulate national and international public opinion with the sole aim of destabilising and isolating Mali,” Maiga said of France’s statements.
Stating that this decision of France left the people of Mali in a difficult position and was used as an element of blackmail against the administrators, Maiga emphasized that on the other hand, France provided support to terrorist groups operating on the territory of Mali.
Subsequently, Maiga announced that the activities of all non-governmental organizations in Mali, which France supports or supplies with equipment and material, were banned. It has been stated that organizations working in the field of “humanitarian aid” are also within the scope of the ban.
France had to withdraw its troops
Mali’s army, which took over the French-backed government in August 2020, established a Military Transition Council that would hold power until 2025. The first task of the transitional administration was to deport the French ambassador. After that, Mali’s government announced that the cooperation agreements in the field of defence, signed in 2014, were terminated because France violated the right of sovereignty of Mali in various ways.
France, where the new administration and the public made it very clear that they do not want themselves on the territory of Mali, withdrew its military units, which it deployed 8 years ago under the pretext of fighting terrorism, last August.
As the protests of local people against the French troops intensified, the French General Staff announced that the last battalion of the Barkhane force on the Malian territory had left the border between Mali and Niger. France had nearly 2,300 soldiers in Mali.
England is withdrawing as well
Recently, England announced it would withdraw its troops from Mali earlier than planned, citing “political instability”.
James Heappey, England’s Secretary of State for Defence, announced to lawmakers in parliament that they would withdraw about 300 British troops sent to Mali as part of the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping mission.
It’s Germany’s turn
After France and England, Germany also announced its decision to withdraw from Mali.
The German government reportedly wants to end the mandate of German troops in Mali in May 2024 as part of the United Nations (UN) Mali Multidimensional Integrated Stability Mission (MINUSMA). There are currently about 1,200 German soldiers in Mali as part of the UN MINUSMA mission.
Mali’s Minister of Defence was in Moscow
While the presence Western forces in Mali that are deployed to the country under the pretext of fighting terrorism has weakened, it is noteworthy that Bamako has improved its relations with Russia since 2020.
Mali’s Military Transition Council received five planes, one military helicopter, new military equipment and devices from Russia in January 2022. Mali’s Ministery of Defence has announced that Russian military support has strengthened Mali’s reconnaissance and offensive capabilities. In August, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Mali’s President Assimi Goita met in Moscow and the two leaders agreed to improve co-operation. Following the meeting, the Russian side said it would provide military equipment as well as fuel, grain and fertilizer support to Mali.
Last day, Mali’s Minister of Defence Daoud Aly Mohammedine reportedly travelled to Moscow at the invitation of the Kremlin, and the two countries signed an agreement on co-operation in the field of security and intelligence.
Russia’s position in the region grows stronger
Russia’s position is becoming stronger, both on the basis of governments and among the people in Africa, where anti-Frenchism is rising. Unlike France, the Malian authorities stress that Russia respects their sovereignty and does not interfere in their internal affairs. While the West says that Russia has settled in the region and increased its influence through Wagner, cooperation with Russia in the military field does not give rise to a dependent relationship, according to regional officials. Russian flags also attract attention in popular actions that violently protest and expel France.
China and Turkey are also active
On the other hand, the ongoing instability and terror in the Sahel, despite years of France’s Operation Barkhane and the UN Peacekeeping Force in the region, calls into question the success and effectiveness of these operations. The belief that the West feeds terrorist organizations in order to maintain its influence in the region is dominant both among the people and among African leaders. African leaders aim to develop formulas based on their own military strength to ensure the security of the continent.
While China stands out as a priority partner in the field of trade and infrastructure for Sahel countries rich in bauxite, uranium, iron, gold and oil reserves, Turkey as well as Russia increases its influence in the region in the field of security and defense. Turkey’s defense and aviation exports to the continent increased more than five times from 82.9 million dollars in 2020 to 460.6 million dollars in 2021.
An era is ending…
France launched the Serval operation on 11 January 2013 on the grounds of ‘political instability in Mali and the fight against the activities of Al-Qaeda-linked groups and the purification of the northern territories of the Malian government (including the cities of Timbuktu and Gao) from radical terrorist organizations’. However, after France’s operation, the crises and conflicts deepened and spread to other countries rich in mines in the Sahel region (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea).
France, which launched the Serval operation in 2013, first sent 3,000 soldiers to this country and then 1,500 in August. Despite announcing that it ended the operation on 15 July 2014, France did not withdraw troops from the country, but instead deployed them to Mauritania, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and moved its military activities to the wider Sahel region under the name of Operation Barkhane, which began in 2014.
Macron also pursued France’s Mali and Sahel policy. But since August 2020, France faces the ‘danger‘of being excluded from the region.
Although the old colonies of France achieved their political independence in the 1960s, economic and military dependence continued with new colonialism. Today, the failure and reluctance of Western powers to ‘combat’ extremist terrorism, one of the most important security problems in the region, has brought with it the need and debate of Africa to turn to its own power. On the other hand, the search for alternative international co-operation continues, but the most important expectation is that these alternative collaborations do not lead to ‘new colonialism’.
