France is stepping up its military cooperation with Niger as it continues to fight Islamist insurgents in the Sahel following a breakdown in relations with Mali's military leaders. Colonel Hervé Pierre, the man in charge of coordinating France’s pivot from Mali to Niger, spoke to RFI about the “extremely complex” reorganisation.
More than 2,400 French soldiers stationed in Mali as part of Operation Barkhane are in retreat following Macron’s announcement in February that “multiple obstructions" by Mali had made it impossible for France to continue its mission there.
Analysts say the military reorder – expected to take four to six months – is part of wider plans for Paris and its European partners to rethink their strategy in the region after nine years of fighting in Mali.
The withdrawal will also allow Mali's military junta, which seized power in a coup in 2020, to think about its own strategic alliances with countries interested in the Sahel, such as Russia and Turkey.
Straddling border
While Niger already acts as an important air hub for French troops, the country will now be placed at the heart of the Barkhane operation – with a command centre to be set up in the capital Niamey.
Colonel Hervé Pierre, who has been involved in multiple French operations in Africa, said French soldiers would be moved to the border areas, keeping Barkhane a stone’s throw from Mali.
"The border is a favoured spot for armed terrorists to settle, hide and refuel and so that is where we will have to go and look for them,” he told RFI.
General Laurent Michon, who commands the Barkhane force itself, said the pullout would need to be coordinated with Mali's military "as quickly as possible" to avoid a security vacuum.
France also wanted to be "certain" that Malian troops were in a position to take over its bases in the country.
#Barkhane | Dans le cadre de la ré-articulation de l’opération @BARKHANE_OP, le Groupement tactique désert logistique Phénix a organisé un convoi logistique à destination de la Base aérienne projetée de Niamey du 16 au 19 mars 2022.@armeedeterre pic.twitter.com/zShBFzynTW
— Armée française - Opérations militaires (@EtatMajorFR) March 26, 2022
Data by France’s Ministry of Defence shows Operation Barkhane has three military bases in northern Mali, with the bulk of troops stationed in Gao, home of the tactical desert unit.
The others are the rural towns of Gossi, near the Burkina Faso border, and Menaka, near the border with Niger.
Niger still needs to approve the upgraded military cooperation deal between its army and France in an upcoming vote in parliament, which is expected to pass.
Violence
The shift in France’s military strategy coincides with an uptick in violence in Mali in recent weeks, with some 400 civilians reportedly killed in a series of massacres carried out by the local Islamic State wing.
It also comes amid growing anti-French sentiment in Sahel nations.
However Paris has been quick to fend off suggestions it has failed in its mission, which has been compared to the US pullout of Afghanistan, instead arguing its hasty exit is the result of both local and global politics.
"We cannot remain militarily engaged alongside de-facto authorities whose strategy and hidden aims we do not share," Macron told journalists.
France launched Operation Barkhane – its longest overseas military operation since the Algerian war – in 2013 at the request of the Malian government.
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