France’s strategic pivot to Europe and its impact on the international fight against terrorism in the Sahel region

This Info Flash outlines the history of Operation Barkhane, offering a general overview of French and European efforts to maintain stability in the Sahel region over the past ten years. The principal causes of France’s disengagement are analysed taking into account external factors, such as the Russian-Ukrainian war at the end of February 2022. Because of the sensibility of this issue, Professor Luca Ranieri, one of the most prominent scholars dealing with security problems in the Sahel region, builds in an interview a critical assessment of Operation Barkhane. Understanding the main weaknesses of this initiative poses extreme usefulness in order to avoid repeating the same errors in the future.

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Lessons of Operation Barkhane for Future European Engagement in the Sahel

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.

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Shining a light on Mali’s deal with the Wagner Group: a recipe for disaster

Worry has spread across the world as relations between Mali and France have been steadily breaking down. Last July, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country would be putting an end to Operation Barkhane (aimed at fighting jihadism in the Sahel in collaboration with the Sahel G5) as soon as the beginning of 2022. The French government reckons that its operation is not well adapted enough to the region’s needs and requires a transformation to combat ever-evolving threats. As a result, more than 2,500 French soldiers out of 5,000 are currently being withdrawn from the Sahel. The goal is to reintegrate them, to serve as the backbone of the European Takuba Task Force.

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Read more about the article External Operations and Civil-Military Relations: Questioning Representation in the Case of Barkhane
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External Operations and Civil-Military Relations: Questioning Representation in the Case of Barkhane

Recent French Armed Forces losses in the Sahel have given rise to a debate regarding France’s posture in the Sahel. France launched the “Operation Serval” in January 2013 to support the Malian government in the face of insurgencies and Tuareg separatism in the North. The so-called “Operation Barkhane” followed in August 2014, targeting jihadists in the entire Sahel region, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Tchad (“G5 Sahel”).

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