Colonial Reoccupation of West Africa? French Troops Will Stay in Mali Even
After United Nations Forces Arrive
Paris has been re-occupying the West African state since January
By <
http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/abayomi-azikiwe> Abayomi Azikiwe
Global Research, April 30, 2013
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has visited the West African
state of Mali where his troops have been fighting since January. France
intervened in the central and northern regions of Mali in a purported
campaign to remove the presence of several Islamic organizations which have
been designated as terrorists by Paris and other imperialist states.
Recently the United Nations Security Council authorized the deployment of
approximately 12, 500 peacekeeping troops which will establish bases at
various points in these contested areas of Mali. This UN force is also
structured to take the place of a 6,000-person regional African force which
has been fighting alongside the French troops against three armed Islamist
groups in the north.
Although Francois Hollande's government said in January that the French
operation in Mali would be short-lived, the plans have now been revised.
France claims that it has drawn down some its troops leaving 4,000 in the
country.
According to reports from the French defense ministry at least 1,000 troops
will remain in Mali until the end of the year. 250 of these soldiers are
specifically slated to be involved in a training mission with the Malian
army, while the other 750 are to continue combat operations.
A major area of the fighting has been in Gao where the French Defense
Minister Le Drian visited. The official announced that several hundred
troops would be transferred from Timbuktu to Gao, leaving only 20 behind in
the ancient city which centuries-ago was a center of Islamic scholarship and
international trade.
In addition to the presence of French soldiers, a contingent of troops from
neighboring Burkina Faso is operating in Timbuktu. These Burkinabe soldiers
are part of the West African regional force mobilized by the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
According to French Colonel Cyrille Zimmer, the Burkinabe troops are taking
over control of military operations in Timbuktu. He said that "We are
leaving a small detachment of 20 men who are going to operate with the
Burkinabe battalion. This detachment is going to stay in Timbuktu while the
Burkinabes are there." (Associated Press, April 29)
There have also been efforts to draw more western states into the war in
Mali. Germany has committed to supplying military trainers through the
European Union.
The United States has been involved in Mali for many years with the U.S.
Africa Command (AFRICOM) supplying training, equipment and monetary
resources. However, these efforts have only created instability inside the
country.
When the junior military officers seized power in March 2012 from the
elected President Amadou Toumani Toure, these soldiers were led by a
U.S.-trained colonel, Amadou Sanogo, who had studied in several academies
set up by the Pentagon. The Pentagon has been transporting French troops
into the battle in Mali and has recently deployed 100 Special Forces in
neighboring Niger in addition to establishing a drone station there.
There has also been a call made by Michael Byers, Chair of Global Politics
and International Law at the University of British Columbia in Canada, to
have Ottawa become more involved in the Malian crisis. Byers in an editorial
published in the Globe and Mail, Canada's leading newspaper, attempted to
make an argument for the deployment of troops to Mali.
Byers wrote on April 29 that "Canadian soldiers would be highly valued as
'force-multipliers' who maximize the impact of other, less well-trained
troops. For nearly half a century, Canada filled this niche in every UN
peacekeeping mission."
He continued saying "Although Canada has disengaged from peacekeeping in
recent years, that shift was a political decision. When Canada's military
leaders sought to have General Andrew Leslie appointed commander of the UN
peacekeeping mission in the Congo in 2010, it was the Harper government that
intervened and claimed that Canada's commitments to the NATO mission in
Afghanistan precluded his taking part."
Therefore, the priority of the Harper government was to engage in more
direct occupation efforts in Afghanistan as opposed to what would be
considered a neutral stance in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nonetheless, the UN forces being placed in Mali could very well be subjected
to hostile fire and other military actions by locals.
This peacekeeping mission will have three obvious challenges. It will be
operating as a supposed neutral force while at the same time French and
Malian troops are continuing their offensive operations against Ansar Dine,
the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Al-Qaeda in the
Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Also there is a growing degree of alienation on the part of the Malian
people in relationship to both French troops and Malian soldiers. These
soldiers have been accused of committing atrocities against the population
where deaths, injuries and illegal detentions have taken place.
Humanitarian Situation Worsens in Mali
As a result of the military coup and the subsequent civil war in the north
between Tuareg separatists and later Islamic rebel groups fighting against
the national Malian army, large-scale displacements have taken place. The
economic impact of the conflict has been devastating to those that have
forced to flee as well as people remaining in their towns and villages.
Food prices have skyrocketed which has impacted working people and the poor.
In a recent article published in the Guardian newspaper in London, it
examines the growing food shortages in Mali where French troops have been
the most active against the targeted rebel organizations.
According to the Guardian, "On Thursday (April 25) four international
agencies warned that northern Mali will descend to emergency levels of food
insecurity in less than two months if conditions do not improve. Recent food
crises in the region have left many people weakened and still in a period of
recovery." (April 29)
Even the Guardian acknowledges that the French intervention has worsened
conditions for people living in the combat areas. In addition to cutting off
supply lines it has created shortages and therefore precipitated
hyperinflation.
This same article goes on to point out that "Food distribution has been
disrupted by the closure of the Algerian border - an important route for
supplies into northern Mali - and the departure of many traders. Aid
agencies say herders have been unable to use traditional pastures and water
points, while the falling value of livestock has made it harder to buy
cereals."
With the intervention of UN peacekeepers there is still no guarantee that
the situation will normalize. If the experiences of other states are of any
indication, such as the DRC, Somalia and Sudan, the deployment of UN forces
may very well exacerbate tensions as oppose to lessen them.
The situation in Mali requires a political solution that can only be reached
between the varying parties, governments and interest groups involved. This
issue portends much for the future of Africa and must be seriously addressed
by the African Union (AU) at their upcoming summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
With the increasing intervention of U.S., French and other NATO military
forces in Africa, the social, political and economic situations in various
African states will inevitably worsen. African states and regional
organizations must devise a strategy to deal with this escalation of
imperialist militarism which has implications for the continent as a whole.
Abayomi Azikiwe Editor, Pan-African News Wire
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Received on Tue Apr 30 2013 - 17:35:07 EDT
