A statement by the army stated that the Malian Air Force intervened to destroy a “terrorist base” near Burkina Faso and Niger, and then violent battles resulted in eight soldiers dead and 14 wounded, as well as 5 missing persons, and also led to “the neutralization of 57 terrorists,” explaining that this intervention came In favor of a patrol, it clashed with unknown armed men in the “Arsham” sector, west of Tesset, tens of kilometers from the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger.
Sources revealed to “Sky News Arabia” that about 40 civilians in Mali were killed this week in this area, which witnessed clashes between gunmen and a group loyal to the “ISIS” organization, explaining that the town of “Tisset” near the “Gao” region was the scene of fighting between terrorists. In recent weeks.
The Malian army said that the decision to attack terrorist groups came with the aim of protecting the civilian population, victims of the abuses committed by these groups, which caused the forcible displacement of civilians from Mali to areas close to Burkina Faso and Niger.
In this area known as the Triangle Border, the national army and the French soldiers from the Barkhane force, as well as the European special forces from Takoba and the United Nations force in Mali, are also active on the Malian side. On Thursday, France and its European partners announced the withdrawal of their forces from Mali.
In this context, Malian writer and political analyst Abdullah Megah told Sky News Arabia that the Bamako government has urgently needed international support to confront terrorist entities, especially after France announced the end of Operation Barkhane and the military withdrawal from Mali.
Mega explained that the evacuation of French forces from military bases in the north-east of the country is not a withdrawal, but a re-positioning near the border triangle between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, especially after terrorist groups moved their theater of operations to this region.
France and its European partners announced, in a statement Thursday, that they had decided to start a coordinated military withdrawal from Mali, and had agreed to draw up plans on how to stay in the region, especially Niger and the Gulf of Guinea states, by June 2022.
The statement added that due to the many obstacles faced by the transitional authorities in Mali, Canada and European countries working alongside Operation Barkhane and the Takuba mission consider that the political, operational and legal conditions are no longer conducive to continuing their effective military participation in the fight against terrorism. in Mali.
At the same time, the call by the ruling military council in Mali for the French military withdrawal from the country did not deter Paris from its endeavor to complete its operations with the support of its other allies in the Sahel region (Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad) within the “Barkhane”, “Takuba” and “Saber” operations. Military.
The writer and political analyst from Mali, Ibrahim Saleh, told “Sky News Arabia” that the French withdrawal on the military side is a real withdrawal; Until France gets a new approach to dealing with the situation on the west coast of Africa, where France has failed to find solutions for countries that considered Paris until recently as its reliable ally, and this is no longer the case, especially in a country like Mali.
The editor-in-chief of the “Akhbar al-Sahel” website added that France is withdrawing militarily from Mali to return to it diplomatically and politically to show support, in light of the growing Russian presence, and the manifestations of resentment against Paris among the Malian people are increasing.
Relations had deteriorated between Paris and Bamako since the ruling junta in Mali backed away from an agreement to organize elections this February, and proposed to keep power until 2025, and the junta also deployed private contractors from Russia, which some European countries said contradicts its mission. .