France Wants Mali Junta to Restore Civilian Rule Within a Year
France Wants Mali Junta to Restore Civilian Rule Within a Year
(Bloomberg) -- France wants to see the Malian junta return power to civilians “in a matter of months” after an Aug. 18 coup in the West African country.
The three-year transition initially proposed by the junta is “out of the question,” French Defense Minister Florence Parly told Europe-1 radio Sunday, echoing the stance of the West African bloc leading mediation talks in a nation that’s been a linchpin in counter-insurgency operations in the region.
If the return to civilian rule isn’t done quickly, “it would ultimately benefit terrorists who tend to exploit the weakness of governments,” Parly said.
France is deeply involved in Mali and the wider Sahel region, on the southern fringe of the Sahara desert, with its 5,000-strong Barkhane force. Deadly raids continue both in Mali and across its borders with Burkina Faso and Niger, making large swathes of the semi-arid region unsafe for travel. Nearly 2,000 people were killed in the first seven months of 2020, the highest toll since Islamist militants began carrying out attacks in 2012, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
The junta has said it wants to keep working with international partners, including France and a 13,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping mission, to keep up the fight against terrorism.
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