Correspondent in Moscow
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The coincidence is fortuitous and nevertheless significant: on the very day of the withdrawal of the French military from Mali, Vladimir Putin launched a new charge on Tuesday against the
“destabilizing”
actions of the West in Africa and on other continents.
France was not mentioned and the Kremlin did not immediately react to the arrival, in neighboring Niger, of the last detachment of the Barkhane force present until then on the base of Gao, in Mali.
However, the event marks a symbolic step in Moscow's all-out offensive on the continent.
Read also
In the Sahel, the post-Barkhane period has begun
From now on, instead of the French military force which at one time numbered more than 5,000 soldiers, a few hundred mercenaries from the Wagner group - there were around 300 in Mali at the start of 2022 - are on the front line against the various jihadist groups raging in this region. part of the Sahel.
Through these soldiers of fortune, can Moscow succeed where the French – and the Europeans – have failed?
Monday again...
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