French defense minister reorganizes military mission in African Sahel

Paris, Jun 11 (Prensa Latina) Defense Minister Florence Parly on Friday announced a profound reform of the Barkhane military mission, within the framework of the international coalition against jihadist groups in the Sahel region of Africa.

June 11, 2021
13:19

Some few hours after President Emmanuel Macron announced a new approach for the deployed troops, Parly stated that the change ‘will be the end of Operation Barkhane as we currently know it. Our military mechanism will focus more on partnership and operational cooperation.’

The defense minister added that in the next few days, the details and schedule of the new program will be discussed with the remaining countries that are part of the international coalition, which will be announced by Macron by late June.

The French proposal ‘will be carried out in line with the Europeanization and internationalization of the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, which has been underway since the Pau Summit in January 2020,’ Parly explained.

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