FRANCE ANNOUNCES WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS FROM MALI

President of France, Emmanuel Macron says the country and its allies in an international force will withdraw their troops from Mali after almost a decade.

Macron said the decision to leave followed a breakdown in diplomatic relations, amid growing hostility from Mali’s new governing military junta.

The president also refuted claims that the withdrawal was an acceptance of failure and insisted that France remains committed to combating Islamic insurgencies in the region, adding that Niger had agreed to host some of the withdrawing forces.

However, Ivory Coast President, Alassane Ouattara warned that the withdrawal of the forces created “a vacuum” that would increase the burden on regional governments but Senegalese President Macky Sall said he understood why France had decided to pull its troops out of Mali, and he was assured the fight against Islamist militants in the Sahel would continue.