Last May, an angry French President Emmanuel Macron last May announced plans to withdraw all French forces from the Sahel in protest over the August 2020 and May 2021 coups in Mali. Military interventionAdvertisementUnder the operation Barkhane, the French had over 5,000 troops in the Sahel. The US States Department the said: “We…echo Ecowas’s concern over the likely destabilising impact of Russia-backed Wagner group forces in Mali. Vocal youthMost recently in Burkina Faso and Niger, angry youths blocked a French military convoy for days. Pan-African pressure group, African Rising, say it is opposed to military coups but also wary of French-pushed military and sanctions on Mali.

Source: Daily Nation January 29, 2022 12:52 UTC