Sahel Leaders Sideline France in Talks With Militants
BAMKO (Dispatches) -- Leaders of countries in West Africa’s Sahel region have abandoned their hopes in purported counter-terrorism efforts by France and started negotiating with armed militants to bring peace to the restive region.
The Sahel, a semi-arid stretch of land south of the Sahara desert, has been in turmoil since 2012, when a number of armed separatists started targeting the local population in Mali.
As a former colonial power seeking significant military presence in Africa, France decided to send thousands of soldiers in 2013 to try to prevent separatist forces from reaching Mali’s capital, Bamako.
Last year, France boosted its troop numbers for its so-called Operation Barkhane in the Sahel by 600 to 5,100 soldiers, but with the military presence failing to bring the situation under control, the UN also deployed its peacekeeping forces in the region.
Terrorist groups, linked to Al-Qaeda and Daesh, have strengthened their foothold across the arid Sahel region, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking local ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.
During a two-day summit on February 16, French President Emmanuel Macron appeared via video link from inside the Elysee palace to give France’s view on the Sahel region’s rampant militancy.
After addressing heads of state from Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania, Macron told journalists that the African leaders had agreed that they could not negotiate with the commanders of two of the region’s most notorious armed groups.
Three days later, however, Moctar Ouane, Mali’s interim prime minister, revealed that his government had created a body to lead talks with the militant groups, which have devastated areas in north and central Mali and elsewhere across the Sahel.
"More and more voices in Mali are calling for dialogue with our brothers who have joined radical groups,” he said.
Echoing the position taken by authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso also announced for the first time in February that it too was open to the idea of negotiating with militants.
"If we want to end the security crisis, we will need to find paths and ways to talk with those responsible for terrorist attacks so that we are in peace,” Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister Christophe Dabire told parliament.
Ironically, the most violent extremists have emerged in the Middle East and Africa after the deployment of Western troops and violence has intensified in proportion to their military buildup over time.
The Sahel, a semi-arid stretch of land south of the Sahara desert, has been in turmoil since 2012, when a number of armed separatists started targeting the local population in Mali.
As a former colonial power seeking significant military presence in Africa, France decided to send thousands of soldiers in 2013 to try to prevent separatist forces from reaching Mali’s capital, Bamako.
Last year, France boosted its troop numbers for its so-called Operation Barkhane in the Sahel by 600 to 5,100 soldiers, but with the military presence failing to bring the situation under control, the UN also deployed its peacekeeping forces in the region.
Terrorist groups, linked to Al-Qaeda and Daesh, have strengthened their foothold across the arid Sahel region, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking local ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.
During a two-day summit on February 16, French President Emmanuel Macron appeared via video link from inside the Elysee palace to give France’s view on the Sahel region’s rampant militancy.
After addressing heads of state from Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania, Macron told journalists that the African leaders had agreed that they could not negotiate with the commanders of two of the region’s most notorious armed groups.
Three days later, however, Moctar Ouane, Mali’s interim prime minister, revealed that his government had created a body to lead talks with the militant groups, which have devastated areas in north and central Mali and elsewhere across the Sahel.
"More and more voices in Mali are calling for dialogue with our brothers who have joined radical groups,” he said.
Echoing the position taken by authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso also announced for the first time in February that it too was open to the idea of negotiating with militants.
"If we want to end the security crisis, we will need to find paths and ways to talk with those responsible for terrorist attacks so that we are in peace,” Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister Christophe Dabire told parliament.
Ironically, the most violent extremists have emerged in the Middle East and Africa after the deployment of Western troops and violence has intensified in proportion to their military buildup over time.