Sahel countries issue joint declaration against terrorist threat

On the eve of the start of the EU-African Union Summit in Brussels, the leaders of the Sahelian countries and international partners issued a joint declaration on combating the terrorist threat and supporting peace and security in the Sahel and West Africa.  

They paid particular attention to the situation in Mali in the fight against jihadism. "Sahelian and neighbouring countries, as well as international partners, have met to discuss the situation in the Sahel. We remain committed to supporting Mali and its people in their efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability, as well as to combat terrorist threats in the Sahel," reads the communiqué. 

The political communities have referred to the situation in Mali regretting that the Malian transitional authorities have not fulfilled their commitments to ECOWAS and the support of the African Union to organise presidential and legislative elections by 27 February this year. "We urge the Malian authorities to complete the transition period and organise free, fair and credible elections. We fully support the ongoing efforts of ECOWAS and the AU to return Mali to constitutional order as soon as possible," the official proclamation states. 

All this was stated in the communiqué after the news that France is to withdraw its troops from Mali. French President Emmanuel Macron's confirmation this week of the military withdrawal, along with his European partners and Canada operating in Operation Barkhane, was also mentioned in the communiqué: "due to multiple obstructions by the transitional authorities in Mali, Canada and the European states believe that the political, operational and legal conditions are no longer met to effectively fulfil their current military commitment to the fight against terrorism". 

France, the former colonial power, deployed its troops in 2013 with the initial objective of confronting jihadist fighters. However, the limited success of this decision, coupled with two coups d'état since 2020 and the failure to establish a civilian government, have forced France and its partners to withdraw the military deployment in the Sahel of some 25,000 troops. 

Despite this, and as the communiqué acknowledges, future modalities for joint action against terrorism in the Sahel region, and in particular in Niger and the Gulf of Guinea, are not ruled out. So much so that political and military consultations are expected to define the parameters of this joint action by June 2022. 

The Sahel countries also stressed the importance of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) "for its contribution to the stabilisation of Mali, to the implementation of the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, to the protection of the Malian people, including human rights, and to the creation of a secure environment for humanitarian aid". They also underlined the "commitment and the price paid in human lives" by the countries that have provided military aid. 

Finally, with the aim of containing the actions of terrorist groups in the region, international partners have been active in supporting relevant regional organisations such as the African Union, ECOWAS, the G5 Sahel and the Acra Initiative. In addition, the High Representative of the Sahel Coalition has been asked to organise "a meeting of the coalition as soon as possible to study the roadmap adopted in March 2021 and take into account these new orientations". 

All of these declarations by West African countries will be key to the EU-African Union summit to be held on 17 and 18 February in Brussels.