The ruling junta in Mali announced Monday evening that it was denouncing the defense agreements with France and its European partners.
On the one hand, the Malian authorities notified the denunciation of the defense cooperation treaty of July 16, 2014; it will take effect six months after the notification of 2 May. But this treaty is already moribund because cooperation is already largely suspended.
On the other hand, it is with immediate effect that the Malian authorities have denounced the Sofa (status of forces agreement) of March 2013 governing the commitment of the French force Serval , then Barkhane , as well as the additional protocol of March 2020 applying to European postings of Takuba , the grouping of European special units launched by France.
Mali justifies this denunciation by the double announcement of the French military withdrawal (June 2021 and February 2022), the violation of its airspace and, finally, the lack of response to the requests for revision of the cooperation treaty of December 2021.
The operational consequences are significant.
First, the forces Barchan and Takuba will no longer have the freedom to enter Malian territory to hunt down terrorist leaders and armed groups. They will therefore have to limit their action to Niger, to the south of the three-border zone.
Then, they will no longer be able to intervene in support of the UN forces of Minusma which have so far benefited from air and logistical support from the French forces. The future of the Blue Helmets, whose relations with the junta are not looking good, is now unpredictable.
This now almost total break and the soon-to-be-permanent absence of French forces in Mali does not bode well for the rapid release of journalist Oliver Dubois, who has been held hostage by an armed group for a year.
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