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French President Emmanuel Macron has officially announced the end of the Barkhane anti-jihadist operations in the Sahel. This comes close on the heels of the French announcement of withdrawing its soldiers from Mali. Analysts say this announcement will have no impact on the French military presence in the region as some 3,000 French troops are still deployed in other Sahel countries, such as Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso
French President Emmanuel Macron has officially announced the end of the Barkhane anti-jihadist operations in the Sahel. This comes close on the heels of the French announcement of withdrawing its soldiers from Mali. Analysts say this announcement will have no impact on the French military presence in the region as some 3,000 French troops are still deployed in other Sahel countries, such as Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso.
Earlier, over 5500 French troops were deployed in the Sahel region. The French army left the country for good in mid-August, after nine years of fighting the jihadists, partly because of the presence of the Russian paramilitary force Wagner. The French continue to fight against jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda from stations where they are positioned to fight against the Islamic State group, which are enhancing its footprint gradually in countries in the Gulf of Guinea region.
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France is committed to reducing the exposure and visibility of military forces in Africa to focus on cooperation and support, mainly in terms of equipment, training, intelligence, and operational partnership, if so requested by the Sahel countries. Paris has to deal with an increasingly hostile African public opinion, in which the influence of rival powers, led by Moscow, is growing via social networks and official media. France is of the opinion that Russians are behind proliferating disinformation content against them through all available media, thereby creating public opinion against them.
