It had been an agitated threat for months. Mali decided, Monday, May 2, to break the defense agreements with France and its European partners. This is a new manifestation of the deterioration of relations between the Malian authorities, dominated by the military who came to power by force in August 2020, and the country’s former allies in the fight against the jihadists.
Bamako thus denounces the Status of Force Agreements (SOFA) which establish the legal framework for the presence in the country of the French “Barkhane” and European “Takuba” forces.
Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, government spokesman, added on national television that the defense cooperation treaty, concluded in 2014 between Mali and France, is also broken. “For some time now, the government of the Republic of Mali has noted with regret a profound deterioration in military cooperation with France”he explained.
The officer notably cited “unilateral attitude” of France during the suspension, in June 2021, of joint operations between French and Malian forces, the announcement, in February 2022, “still without any consultation of the Malian side”the withdrawal of the “Barkhane” and “Takuba” forces, and the « multiples violations » Malian airspace by French aircraft, despite the establishment by the authorities of a no-fly zone over a large part of the territory.
“In view of these serious shortcomings as well as the flagrant attacks on Mali’s national sovereignty, the government of the Republic of Mali decides to denounce the defense cooperation treaty of July 16, 2014”did he declare.
The Malian authorities notified this denunciation Monday afternoon to the French authorities and it will take effect six months after this notification, he specified.
The withdrawal of “Barkhane”, a complex operation
It is, however, with ” immediate effect ” that the Malian authorities denounce the SOFA of March 2013 framing the commitment of the French force “Serval”, then “Barkhane”, as well as the additional protocol of March 2020 applying to the European detachments of “Takuba”, the grouping of European special units launched by France, he said.
Will the denunciation of the SOFA have repercussions on the ongoing withdrawal of “Barkhane”, announced in February as the culmination of months of escalating tensions? The question then arises that this withdrawal, a complex and dangerous operation, is supposed to take place over four to six months.
The announcement by the Malian authorities further poisons relations between two former allies who together fought the jihadist contagion from the north of this poor and landlocked country. It has since reached neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, and threatens to spread further south to the Gulf of Guinea. It caused thousands of deaths in Mali, civilians and combatants, and left the country close to sinking, by the very admission of the authorities.
Relations deteriorated between Bamako and Paris after the second coup d’etat led by the Malian colonels in May 2021 against a president and a prime minister whom they had themselves installed, then the revocation by these officers of their commitment to return power to civilians in February 2022.
Presence of the Russian company Wagner
The tensions worsened as the junta approached Russia. France and its allies accuse the Malian authorities of securing the services of the controversial Russian private company Wagner. The government contests and speaks of old state-to-state collaboration. Mali expelled the French ambassador in January.
Already at the time, the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop, was considering the denunciation, if necessary, of the cooperation treaty. Bamako had requested amendments in December 2021 arguing that certain provisions were contrary to national sovereignty. The colonels took a very dim view of “Barkhane” continuing to operate in the skies of their country.
Last week, the junta accused the French army of” spying “ and of « subversion » after the broadcast by the French general staff of videos shot by a drone near the base of Gossi (center) returned in April by France. Two days after this restitution, the French army had, to counter what it described as“informational attack”published a video of what it said were Russian mercenaries burying bodies near this base in order to accuse France of war crimes.