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Former French President François Hollande gave an interview to France 24 and RFI, some ten years after the launch of Operation Serval, which drove armed rebels and Islamist militants out of northern Mali. Hollande defended the record of French military operations in the Sahel region and lamented the arrival of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
Ten years after the launch of Operation Serval in January 2013, which was followed by the broader Operation Barkhane across the Sahel region, French troops left Mali. Former President François Hollande said he was saddened to see that the Wagner group of Russian mercenaries “managed to convince part of the (Malian) population that they would protect it better” from jihadists than France. “They (Wagner) are the neocolonialists,” he pointed out.
Security in Mali has worsened
Hollande said the Wagner Group had failed to make Mali more secure. Since the arrival of the mercenaries, the security situation is “worse”, he said, adding that the jihadists have extended their attacks to southern and central Mali, where they were not present before.
The former French leader also defended the withdrawal of another French operation in Africa: Operation Sangaris, in the Central African Republic, at the end of 2016. Faced with the continued threat from rebel groups, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra called on Wagner mercenaries. “Would the presence of France have dissuaded him? I’m not sure,” said the former president. It is up to a country’s government to determine its fate, he added.
Delicate relations with Chad
Following the death of Chadian President Idriss Déby in April 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to N’Djamena to support a government transition led by General Mahamat Déby, son of the assassinated president. Eighteen months later, demonstrations against his bid to remain in power were met with heavy repression that left at least 50 people dead in October.
Hollande believes that Chad remains a partner in efforts against the spread of jihadism in the region. But this cannot justify “very serious violations of human rights, even against opponents of the regime”, he concludes.
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