Why did Emmanuel Macron decide to keep intact - at least “for the time being” - the French troops deployed for eight years in the Sahel?
This maintenance of the 5,100 soldiers of Operation Barkhane is the main announcement of the G5 summit (Mali, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania) which ended on Tuesday, February 16 by videoconference between Ndjaména (Chad) where the leaders were gathered. Sahelian State and the Elysee.
"It would be paradoxical to weaken our system when we have a political and military alignment favorable to the achievement of our objectives", explained Emmanuel Macron at the end of the meeting.
Three reasons explain this maintenance.
1. Support the Sahelian armies
First of all, despite the successes achieved since the "surge" (reinforcement of 600 French soldiers a year ago), the threat remains high and armed attacks are recorded almost every day.
However, the local armies, despite the tens of millions of euros spent on training and equipment, do not yet have the capacity to fight autonomously the terrorist groups of the EIGS (Islamic State in the Great Sahara) and the RVIM (Rassemblement for the victory of Islam and Muslims), affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
VIDEO. Operation Barkhane in the Sahel: for Macron, "massively withdrawing men would be a mistake"
"If we retire, tomorrow everything will start again," a senior officer told us recently.
However, progress is real, so we must not interrupt the process.
"In recent months, on the ground, we have seen the Malian soldiers hold their posts in the face of attacks by jihadists encircling them with their motorcycles and pick-ups, with rocket and mortar fire, continues this officer, while in 2019 they were disbanded.
"
Paradoxically, the coup d'état which saw a junta of colonels take power in Bamako last August would have ... improved the situation.
"The military hierarchy has been completely renewed and we are working very well with our counterparts, those of the central command as well as those in charge in the field", welcomes General Marc Conruyt, commander of Operation Barkhane.
Emmanuel Macron himself admits to having made more progress "in three months with the transitional authorities
(Editor's note: who officially replace the junta pending elections)
than in three years" with ousted President Keita!
Proof of this “progress”, the Malian, Nigerien and Burkinabé soldiers took part last fall and at the beginning of the year alongside Barkhane's soldiers in two major operations, “Bourrasque” and “Eclipse”.
And Chad announced the dispatch of a contingent of 1,200 men to Barkhane.
2. Target the jihadist “upper hierarchy”
If the EIGS, a "subsidiary" of Daesh, is weakened and "has lost its grip", its rival RVIM, led by Tuareg leader Iyad Ag Ghali, is prospering locally and plans to extend the jihad to Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Senegal… The Head of State confirmed that “the highest hierarchy” of this group of Al-Qaeda is in Barkhane's sights, and promised “reinforced action” to “try to go decapitate these organizations ”.
An extreme vocabulary which corresponds to a reality, the Elysee as the general staff having admitted that Iyad Ag Ghali and his lieutenant Amadou Koufa, a Fulani preacher head of the Katiba (jihadist column) Macina, would be "neutralized".
Clearly, killed, in military language ... if "the opportunity arises", specifies an officer.
Political Newsletter
Our analyzes and indiscretions on power
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
VIDEO. In the hell of a jihadist sanctuary with French soldiers
If the designation of such targets is not new in itself - Emmanuel Macron recalled that the French soldiers thus eliminated the head of Aqmi Abdelmalek Droukdel last June - the novelty comes from the agreement, endorsed at the top, of the G5 partners.
The Malian government, in particular, has so far been in favor of dialogue with these locally established jihadist leaders.
3. Develop the Takuba special force
Macron relies heavily on the involvement of Europeans in the Takuba taskforce.
These are special forces detachments, associating French and Europeans - around 40 Estonians, around 60 Czechs and some 150 Swedes for the moment - with Sahelian soldiers, for perilous operations against the jihadists.
The Head of State sets himself the goal of "reaching 2000 men for Takuba, including 500 French as a pivot force".
Other EU partners are already expected, Italians soon, Dutch, Portuguese, Danes, Belgians, etc.
The fact remains that the military component will not be able to settle anything alone, and that the Elysee fears a stagnation in the Sahel which could become an issue of the presidential election of 2022. Macron therefore calls for a "second jump: that of the return of security and services to populations ”in regions abandoned to armed groups. In order to put pressure on his counterparts, he appointed a special envoy to the region, responsible for reporting each week the progress of the objectives - reopening of schools, return of magistrates, police officers… - in four zones in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso designated at the summit.
