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Why are French troops leaving Mali, and what will it mean for the region?
[BBC] President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will be pulling French forces out of the West African nation of Mali, where they have been fighting Islamist militants since 2013.There are 5,000 French troops in Mali and surrounding countries, fighting groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State. But over the past eight years, the French presence has become increasingly unpopular with Mali's government and its public. What is the terrorist threat in Mali and the Sahel region? Both the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda have decided to focus on the Sahel region of Africa, after suffering setbacks in the Middle East. The Sahel is a strip of semi-arid land beneath the Sahara Desert that stretches across the continent from east to west. It includes parts of Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. Related: Mali: 2022-02-17 FBI says Texas synagogue hostage-taker tried to buy ‘machine gun’ and drugs Mali: 2022-02-16 European armies may soon abandon Mali military mission Mali: 2022-02-14 Santa Monica, CA tweets photo of Russian jet to promote US Air Force Super Bowl flyover Posted by: Besoeker 2022-02-18 |
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