Mali: the French army leaves Ménaka, penultimate stage of the departure of Barkhane

The French army will officially leave the Ménaka military base in northeastern Mali on Monday, June 13, and hand over the keys to the Malian armed forces (FAMa), the penultimate stage of the departure of the Barkhane anti-jihadist force from the country. , said the French general staff.

To discover

• LIVE - Legislative 2022: follow the negotiations the day after the first round

Read alsoMali: "As nature abhors a vacuum, terrorists will not miss such an opportunity"

The French soldiers will leave Mali for good "

" with the transfer to the FAMa of their main hold in Gao, underlined the spokesman for the general staff, General Pascal Ianni, during a press briefing.

Opened in 2018, the Ménaka base, in the region known as the three borders, on the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, notably housed the group of French and European special forces Takuba, which aimed to help the forces Malians to gain autonomy.

His PC is maintained in Gao, before his disappearance.

"

," said the staff.

Diplomatic crisis between Paris and Bamako

Relations between the junta in power in Bamako and Paris, a former colonial power, have deteriorated sharply in recent months, particularly since the arrival in Mali of paramilitaries from the Russian group Wagner, pushing the two countries to break up after nine years of uninterrupted French presence to fight against the jihadists.

The departure of Ménaka on Monday "

", comments the state- major.

Read alsoMali: the junta grants itself two more years

The day after the previous handover of a French base, in April in Gossi, the French general staff had broadcast videos shot by a drone near this site showing paramilitaries from the Russian company Wagner burying bodies with a view to accusing France of war crimes.

Thus, before the handover of Ménaka, the French army was "

", suspecting possible maneuvers to harm its image, in particular through the organization of anti-French demonstrations, or accusations of collusion between Barkhane and jihadists, who have already transpired on social media.

“Does not mark the departure of the Sahelo-Saharan strip”

Barkhane in the Sahel, France's current largest external operation, has mobilized up to 5,500 men on the ground in 2020. Paris decided to scale back last summer, closing its northernmost advanced military bases in Mali. - Kidal, Tessalit and Timbuktu.

French President Emmanuel Macron then decided in February on a total military withdrawal from Mali, in a degraded security context and diplomatic crisis between Paris and Bamako.

Read alsoLeaving the G5 Sahel, Mali reinforces its isolation

However, "

", argues the staff, assuring that "

".