Mali junta pledges better security after France’s withdrawal

Mali’s ruling junta Friday said France’s military pullout after nine years of battling jihadists in its former colony would usher in an era of improved security.

The government “takes note of this final withdrawal”, its spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga said in a statement.

It “reassures the Malian population that, thanks to the rise in power of the brave Malian forces, more successes will be recorded against the terrorist groups,” he said.

“People’s security will be considerably improved.”

France on Monday said its last remaining troops had quit Mali.

Relations between Bamako and Paris have soured following two military coups in Mali since 2020.

The arrival of Russian paramilitaries in the Sahel country at the invitation of the government was a key factor in France’s decision to pull out its forces.

Defence Minister Sadio Camara this week travelled to Russia and was still there on Friday.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop in a letter to the Chinese presidency of the UN Security Council accused France of “acts of aggression” and of backing jihadists.

Diop claimed that French forces committed “frequent violations” of Malian airspace, suggesting the flights were “to collect intelligence for the benefit of terrorist groups… and to drop arms and ammunition to them”.

France responded by condemning “increasing manipulation of information” about its military withdrawal.