FRENCH TROOPS SHOULD HUNT QAEDA
BEYOND MALI
BORDERS
Source: EuroNews
FRENCH troops should
be allowed to hunt down al Qaeda-linked militants beyond Mali’s borders, FRENCH
army chief Admiral Edouard Guillaud said in a rare interview on Thursday.
Nine months after they
were scattered across the Sahara by a FRENCH military offensive, Islamists in MALI
have named new leaders and are making a comeback as FRANCE whittles down its
military presence. They have launched attacks on U.N. peacekeepers and killed two
FRENCH journalists this month.
Speaking to EUROPE 1
radio, Guillaud said Paris would reduce its troop numbers in MALI to between
2,000 and 2,500 by year-end and aimed to reach its target of a 1,000-strong
permanent force in MALI “during the winter”.
FRANCE retains about
2,800 soldiers in its former colony, according to a defence ministry statement.
Paris has already
delayed drawing the force down to February depending on the roll-out of a U.N.
peacekeeping mission, which is so far only at half its mandated strength of
12,600 men.
Background
Information:
EU FUNDS MILITARY PRESENCE IN THE SAHEL UNTIL
2020
SAHEL BELT
Asked if FRENCH
soldiers should be allowed to cross borders when militants leave MALI, Guillaud
said: “I think we should hunt them down everywhere. That’s why we are working
with our neighbours NIGER, BURKINA FASO and CHAD, and also cooperating with ALGERIA
so that there is no sanctuary for them.”
Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius told Reuters in MOROCCO that FRANCE’S military presence in MALI was
needed to help a region struggling against militants, who have threatened to
attack FRENCH interests and have sought haven in southern LIBYA’S vast deserts.
Background Information:
INSTABILITY IN THE SAHEL COULD PROMPT
INCREASED MIGRATION AND ILLICIT TRAFFICKING WHICH IS BOUND TO SPILL OVER
INTO EUROPE. http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/11/mali-sahel-and-france.html
KILLINGS OF JOURNALISTS
The two journalists
were shot by their captors shortly after being kidnapped earlier this month as
they emerged from an interview with a representative of the MNLA Tuareg group
in the northern desert city of Kidal, a hotbed of rebel activity.
A number of Tuareg and
Arab rebel groups still operate in MALI and are due to hold talks with the new
government over long-term solutions to recurring northern uprisings.
These groups have come
under pressure since the killings of the journalists. Tuareg rebels in Kidal officially
handed control of the government buildings they occupied to United Nations
peacekeepers.
Adama Kamissoko, the
governor of Kidal, said there had been minor demonstrations by pro-separatist
rebel supporters.
Background Information:
EU INVOLVEMENT IN MALI
Why the SAHEL is crucial to EUROPE'S neighborhood – and its
security strategy
MALI QUEST NOT CONCLUDED
Highlighting the
continuing threat, Guillaud said FRENCH troops had fought and “neutralised” a
number of militants from al Qaeda’s NORTH AFRICAN wing AQIM, about 250 km (150
miles) west of Tessalit in the far north of MALI.
“In MALI, it’s not
finished,” he said. “We need to adapt to circumstances. There are still suicide
attacks, assassinations of our compatriots and there are (legislative) elections.”
The task of calming
the region has been complicated by increasingly blurred lines between Islamist
militants, separatist rebels and gangs of smugglers. Experts are worried FRANCE
could get bogged down in an open-ended war unless U.N. peacekeepers can plug
the security gap.
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