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Added on the 11/06/2021 16:20:07 - Copyright : France 24 EN
The transformation of the existing Barkhane operation in the Sahel will involve the closure of French army bases and the prioritisation of the fight against jihadists by special forces, announced the French president. The fight against terrorism will be carried out "with special forces structured around (the operation) Takuba with obviously a strong French component, with several hundred soldiers, and African, European, international forces", which "will be dedicated to interventions strictly to fight terrorism", said Emmanuel Macron during a press conference. SOUNDBITE
President Emmanuel Macron hosts African leaders on Wednesday ahead of an expected announcement that France is withdrawing its troops from Mali after an almost decade-long deployment to battle a jihadist insurgency. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Armen Georgian tells us more.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that Europeans needed to build a new "security and stability framework" that would require "strategic rearmament" as well as "frank and demanding" talks with Russia. FRANCE 24's Dave Keating reports from Brussels.
After nine years deployed in Mali, France is organising a drawdown, with troops preparing to leave the last of three bases in the far north of the insurgency-hit and poverty-wracked country. French troops were sent to Mali in 2013 by then-president Francois Hollande to tackle the rebels affiliated to Al-Qaeda or Islamic State in the arid north.
France cancelled a meeting with the UK interior minister after Boris Johnson published a letter calling on Paris to "take back" migrants crossing the Channel.
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