The French army announced that some 3,000 of its soldiers would remain stationed in the Sahel region, two days after the completion of its withdrawal from Mali, which accused the French forces of Barhane of committing “aggressive acts” on its territory.
A military junta ruling in Mali since 2020 dealing with the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, although it denies it, prompted the French army to leave the country after nine and a half years of deployment as part of a mission to fight terrorists. group, and the withdrawal of French troops ended with the transfer of their last base in Mali to the GAO financial authorities.
“The end of the French military presence in Operation Barkhane in Mali does not mean the end of Operation Barkhane,” said General Staff spokesman Colonel Pierre Goodyear, stressing that “the transformation of Operation Barkhane is much deeper than this exit from Mali.”
