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French soldiers who have completed a four-month deployment in the Sahel are boarding a US Air Force C130 transport aircraft to leave their base in Gao
Photo: Uncredited / dpa
After the coup in Mali, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of the French military operation in the Sahel zone in its previous form.
The Barkhane mission should be replaced by an international alliance against Islamists, Macron said on Thursday in Paris ahead of the G7 and NATO summits.
Macron spoke of a "fundamental reshuffle" of the French deployment with so far 5100 soldiers.
The President announced the closure of French military bases in the Sahel.
He did not give a specific schedule for the French partial withdrawal.
He will now discuss the future military deployment with partners in Africa, Europe and other countries.
A week ago France had temporarily suspended joint military operations with Mali.
Macron emphasized that he saw the future of French involvement in the so-called Takuba Troop, in which "hundreds of French soldiers" were to form the backbone.
Special forces "fighting terrorism" have priority.
The European reaction force in the Sahel region currently includes around 600 soldiers, around half of whom come from France.
Sweden, the Czech Republic and Estonia are also involved.
Merkel is sticking to the Federal Armed Forces
France began the Barkhane combat operation against jihadists in the Sahel region eight years ago.
However, the mission has not been able to stop the spread of Islamist groups in the region.
The mission goes back to a military intervention in January 2013 with which Paris wanted to stop the advance of jihadists in Mali.
Germany participates in training and stabilization missions of the EU and the UN in Mali with up to 1,700 Bundeswehr soldiers.
However, the dangerous use is now also being questioned in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) ruled out an end to the missions at the end of May, regardless of the coup in Mali.
mjm / AFP
