On August 15, 2022, the last French soldiers involved in Operation Barkhane left Malian territory. The operation began nearly a decade earlier and had the primary objective of fighting against terrorist groups in the region (Burgess, 2018, p. 5). The situation in Mali, however, appears worse now than before. Jihadist violence continues to escalate, anti-Western sentiment runs rampant, and Russian Wagner mercenaries have established a firm footing in the country.