France withdraws its forces from Mali
But their fight against jihadists in the Sahel is not over
WHEN THEY arrived in 2013 it was in a rush: 250 men from a base in Senegal; 950 from Chad; helicopters and men from Burkina Faso. With fast-moving columns of jihadists dashing south through Mali and poised to capture Bamako, the capital, within days, there was no time for a multinational force from the UN or ECOWAS, the regional bloc. François Hollande, then French president, ordered his troops into Mali, urging them to “get it done”.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “French leave”
From the February 19th 2022 edition
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