The military junta in Mali announced on Monday night that it was canceling the defense agreements it had concluded with France and its European partners, a further manifestation of the rapid deterioration of relations between Bamako and his former allies in the fight against the jihadists. .
Carrying out the threat posed for months, the military junta that came to power in August 2020 announced that it was “denying” the so-called Status of Forces Agreements (SOFA), which defined the legal framework for its presence in Mali. of the French force Barhan and the European Takumba, as well as the defense cooperation agreement signed in 2014 by Bamako and Paris.
In a statement broadcast on state television, a spokesman for the military government, Colonel Abdullaye Maiga, referred to “flagrant violations” by France, which was militarily involved in Mali’s national sovereignty in Africa in 2013.
He referred to the “unilateral” decision of France to suspend in June 2021 the joint operations of the armed forces of the two countries, in the announcement in February 2022 “without any prior consultation” with Bamako of the withdrawal of the Barhan and Takumba forces, in the “multiple violations of Mali airspace by French aircraft.
“Given the blatant violations of Mali national sovereignty,” the military junta decided to “denounce the defense co-operation agreement of 16 July 2014,” he added.
Bamako informed Paris about this decision yesterday afternoon. It will be implemented six months after the notification, he clarified.
On the contrary, the denial of SOFA has “immediate effect”. These are the 2013 agreement that defined the status of the French force Serval, later Barhan, and the supplementary protocol of March 2020 concerning the deployment of special forces of European states formed on the French initiative, Takuba.
There has been no official reaction from Paris so far.
It remains to be seen whether SOFA’s denunciation will have repercussions on Barhan’s evacuation, announced in February after months of tensions. The withdrawal of the French force, a potentially dangerous operation, is expected to be completed in four to six months.
The announcement by the authorities in Mali further aggravates relations between the former close allies, who fought against the spread of jihadist activity from the northern part of the poor, enclosed Sahel country. Jihadist activity has spread to neighboring countries (Niger, Burkina Faso) and threatens to reach the Gulf of Guinea. It has cost the lives of thousands of people – civilians and insurgents – and brought the Sahel state to the brink of collapse, authorities admit.
Relations between Bamako and Paris deteriorated after the second military coup of the colonels, in May 2021, against the president and prime minister they had appointed, following the cancellation of the colonels’ commitment to hand over power to its citizens. 2022.
Things got worse with the military junta’s rapprochement with Russia. France and its Western allies accuse the Mali authorities of hiring the controversial Russian private military company Wagner. Bamako denies this and talks about transnational cooperation.
Mali ousted France’s ambassador in January.
Foreign Minister Abdullahi Diop then threatened that Bamako would cancel the co-operation agreements if he saw fit. Mali demanded their amendments in December, ruling that certain provisions violated their national sovereignty. The colonels viewed with particular malice the action of the French Air Force in the ethers of the African country.
Last week, the military junta accused the French army of “espionage” and conspiracy to “overthrow” it, following the release by the Paris headquarters of a video taken by the UAV near Gossi base. The French military has released a video showing Russian mercenaries burying corpses near the base, accusing France of war crimes.
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
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