Countries involved in French-led anti-terrorist operations in West Africa will withdraw from Mali according to a statement from French President Emmanuel Macron Thursday. Over the course of four to six months, France and its allies will close military bases in Gossi, Menaka and Gao, and will transfer these soldiers to Niger.
The European and Canadian governments involved made a statement that the political, legal and operational conditions are not met for continued military engagement in Mali. A large point of contention is that Malian transitional authorities failed to hold elections by February 27th. The countries continued to express their commitment to anti-terrorist operations in the Sahel region and would continue dialogue with the transition authorities in Mali.
