France has suspended joint military operations with Malian forces following a coup in New Mali

The temporary measure announced by the Ministry of Armed Forces is the strongest reaction against the military coup in Mali last week.

In its strongest reaction to Mali’s coup last week, France has said it will suspend military operations with Mali’s forces “awaiting guarantees” that civilians will return to power.

Malian soldiers arrested interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane on May 25 and stripped them of their powers after a dispute over cabinet renewal work plunged the country into more uncertainty after a military coup in August last year.

Assimi Goita, the colonel who led the two coups and was a deputy in Ndaw with the task of leading the country to full civilian rule in the transitional administration formed in September, he was named president on May 28th.

In the wake of the army’s latest military power, the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) regional bloc and the African Union have suspended Mali from their institutions and threatened sanctions.

“Demands and red lines have been set by ECOWAS and the African Union to clarify the scope of Mali’s political transition. It is up to the Malian authorities to respond quickly, ”the French ministry of the armed forces said on Thursday.

“Pending these guarantees, France, after informing its partners and the Malian authorities, has decided, as a measure and temporarily, to suspend military operations with Malian forces, as well as national advisory missions that benefit them.”

France has about 5,100 troops in the region in five Sahel countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – under what is known as Operation Barkhane.

The mission, which is headquartered in Chad, began when France intervened in 2013 to help repel fighters who had crossed parts of Mali.

French forces will continue to act separately in the country and the decision will be re-evaluated in the coming days, the ministry said.

Nicolas Haque of Al Jazeera reported from the Malian capital Bama that France’s announcement was a “blow” to Mali’s military authorities, as well as to soldiers fighting with armed groups in the north and center of the country.

“France is their main partner,” he added. “Apart from the suspension of military cooperation, hundreds of teachers and trainers within the Malian forces are no longer cooperating with the Malian armed forces.”

Over the weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that France would withdraw its troops from Mali if it were to pave the way for what it called “radical Islamism” after the coup.

“Radical Islamism in Mali with our soldiers there? Never, ”Macron, who called for power last week, took on an“ unacceptable coup ”in the weekly“ Journal du Dimanche ”.

Goita, who will officially inaugurate Mali’s transitional president on Monday, led the coup that ousted democratically elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last August, was the vice president after a month of perceived corruption and government protests. exacerbating the conflict in the country.

Following pressure from ECOWAS, the functions of the transitional president and prime minister were given to civilians before the elections scheduled for February 2022.

On Wednesday, AU continued on to ECOWAS extended He called on Mali and the military to “return to the barracks urgently and unconditionally and not to interfere further in Mali’s political processes.”

Following an emergency meeting on Sunday, ECOWAS in its latest communiqué called for the immediate appointment of a new civilian prime minister and the formation of an “inclusive” government.