Hundreds of people in Mali on Friday protested against the presence of foreign troops in their country, just days ahead of a summit meant to “clarify” France’s military role in the region. Protesters carried banners reading slogans such as “Down with France, Barkhane must leave” or “France is a brake on our development”. Despite antipathy in some quarters towards foreign troops, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita urged people not to “mistake the enemy” in a speech to ministers this week. “The foreign forces present in our country are our allies in this tragic war which was imposed on us,” Keita’s spokesperson reported the president as saying. But MPs from Keita’s own party were present at the protest in Bamako on Friday, an AFP journalist said.

Source: Punch January 10, 2020 19:07 UTC