<
https://theconversation.com/the-sahel-region-is-less-secure-than-ever-foreign-forces-just-add-to-the-cycle-of-violence-282917>
"Several of Mali’s major cities experienced coordinated attacks in April by a
new coalition of jihadists and separatist groups.
As the coalition took over the town of Kidal in the north of Mali, images of
Russian troops being escorted out of the town after negotiations were cabled
out across global media.
Russia, now in the shape of Africa Corps and previously the Wagner Group, has
been the Malian military’s external security partner since the beginning of
2022. It replaced French and European troops from the counter-terrorism
operation Barkhane and Taskforce Takuba. France had deployed a force of 5,000
troops from 2014 to 2022. European special forces numbered 1,000 between 2020
and 2022. Both missions were forced to leave as relations between France and
the Malian junta grew tense.
The strategic realignment, from western and multilateral forces to Russian
troops, expanded in the region. In Burkina Faso, which experienced two coups in
2022, the French troops were expelled at the start of 2023, as 200 Russian
troops moved in.
In the summer of 2023, the Malian authorities also kicked out the decade-old
13,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission. Niger’s junta, which took power the same
year, followed suit and expelled the EU’s operations in the country six months
later, before accepting a few hundred Russian troops.
During the past decade I have researched external security interventions in the
Sahel and analysed their justifications, development on the ground, and
consequences for political and security environments.
I conclude from my research that the external interventions have not stabilised
the region. More than a decade after the first major interventions, the Sahel
is more fragmented, militarised and violent than before.
Yet the persistence of insecurity also serves political purposes."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
