Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso Have Established A Sahel Security Alliance

DW: Juntas of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso sign security pact  

Three West African countries ruled by military juntas have signed a mutual defense pact. Mali and Burkina Faso had previously promised to come to Niger's aid in the event of an attack. 

Military juntas of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso signed a security pact on Saturday promising to help each other in the event of any rebellion insurgency or external aggression. 

The Liptako-Gourma Charter will create the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), Mali's junta leader Assimi Goita posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Its aim is to "establish an architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance for the benefit of our populations," he wrote.  

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Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso Have Established A Sahel Security Alliance  

Mali, Niger, Burkina sign mutual defence pact -- AFP  

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso sign Sahel security pact -- Reuters  

Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger sign mutual defense pact -- UPI  

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso establish Sahel security alliance -- Al Jazeera

French President Macron Announces France's Sahel Military Force Will End In Early 2022

#BREAKING: France to start closing military bases in Mali by year-end, French President Emmanuel Macron says. #France #Mali #Sahel #G5Sahel #Barkhanehttps://t.co/OoQpVfBQPV

— africanews 😷 (@africanews) July 9, 2021

France 24: Macron announces France's Sahel military force will end in early 2022 

France's anti-jihadist military force in the Sahel region, which today involves over 5,000 troops, will end in the first quarter of 2022, President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday. 

Last week Macron announced a gradual drawdown of France's military presence in the Sahel and the end of the existing Barkhane operation. Now he has put a timeline on the end of the operation, while assuring that France is "not withdrawing" entirely from the region. 

"We will put an end to Operation Barkhane in the first quarter of 2022 in an orderly fashion," Macron told troops on the eve of France's traditional Bastille Day celebrations. 

 Last week Macron said that he saw France's future presence as being part of a so-called Takuba international task force in the Sahel of which hundreds of French soldiers would form the "backbone".

It would mean the closure of French bases and the use of special forces focused on anti-terror operations and military training.  

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 Update #1: West Africa: French President Macron Expands On Sahel Drawdown Plan (AllAfrica/Council on Foreign Relations)

Update #2: France to close three military bases in northern Mali by early 2022 (RFI)  

WNU Editor: French support for the mission in the Sahel is low (see video below). France goes to the polls next year. French Macron wants this issue to be off the table as an election issue by then.