PARIS, February 17. /TASS/. France and its partners in the international anti-terrorist operation Takuba have declared coordinated troop pullout from Mali amid disagreements with the country’s current authorities, the Elysee Palace said in a statement on Thursday.
"Due to multiple obstructions by the Malian transitional authorities, Canada and the European States operating alongside Operation Barkhane and within the Task Force Takuba deem that the political, operational and legal conditions are no longer met to effectively continue their current military engagement in the fight against terrorism in Mali and have thereof decided to commence the coordinated withdrawal of their respective military resources dedicated to these operations from Malian territory," the statement reads.
However, France and its allies vowed "to continue their joint action against terrorism in the Sahel region, including in Niger and in the Gulf of Guinea, and have begun political and military consultations with them with the aim to set out the terms for this shared action by June 2022," the communique says.
"In order to contain the potential geographical expansion of the actions of armed terrorist groups towards the south and west of the region, the international partners indicate their willingness to actively consider extending their support to neighboring countries in the Gulf of Guinea and West Africa, based on their demands," the statement’s signatories say.
In this context the allies "call on the High Representative of the Coalition for the Sahel to swiftly organize a coalition ministerial meeting, with the aim of assessing the roadmap adopted in March 2021 and taking these new developments into account."
Further cooperation
The Western countries voiced support for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and expressed the readiness to go ahead with efforts to provide security and protection for civilians in the region. "We all note our longstanding commitment to the people of Mali and our willingness to continue to tackle root causes of insecurity by mobilizing assistance to meet the immediate and longer-term needs of the population, especially the most vulnerable people," the joint statement says.
The allies reaffirmed their willingness to continue engaging in dialogue with the Malian transition authorities, but observed with regret that the Malian transitional authorities have not fulfilled their commitments to ECOWAS, supported by the AU, to hold presidential and legislative elections by February 27, 2022. They called upon Bamako "to complete the transition period and organize free, fair and credible elections" and fully supported ongoing efforts of the ECOWAS and the African Union.