PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2023) French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu has criticized recent claims by a number of French senators that the country's policy in Africa has failed, citing the counterterrorism Operation Barkhane in the Sahel region as an example of success.
On Monday, a group of 94 French senators of different political views signed an open letter to President Emmanuel Macron, saying that the country's policy on the African continent had failed. The authors of the letter include Roger Karuchi, the first vice president of the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, the head of the Republican group in the Senate, and Christian Cambon, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense.
"This letter, devoid of specific proposals, could have at least paid tribute to what has been achieved by our army ... I cannot let anyone say that Operation Barkhane was a failure. Our army constantly pushed back terrorist groups in the Sahel, saving thousands of lives on the spot and protecting the French from the threat of terrorist attacks on our territory," the minister wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
At the same time, Lecornu admitted that certain political lessons could be learned from the operation, just as from any crisis and any military operation in the world.
The developments came amid anti-French sentiment spreading in a number of African nations after Niger's presidential guard removed Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum from power on July 26 and the guard's commander, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself the country's new leader. The new Nigerien authorities urged people to protest against France, which had exercised colonial rule over Niger for more than 60 years, citing the possibility of the French forces' intrusion into the country. Meanwhile, Macron vowed to support any sanctions that might be introduced against the coup participants by African regional organizations and called for Bazoum's release.
The France-led counterterrorism mission Barkhane was founded in 2014 to assist the Malian military in their fight against terrorism in the African region of Sahel. The mission involved forces of the G5 Sahel countries, including Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania. In the spring of 2022, the Malian government announced that it was terminating defense agreements with Paris and called on the country to withdraw troops involved in the Barkhane and other mission. In November 2022, Macron announced the official end of Operation Barkhane.
