Mali: French forces leave Timbuktu after nine years
By
Friedrich Claassens
December 15, 2021
The departure of French personnel from Timbuktu is the latest indicator that the former colonial power is lowering its presence in northern Mali, nearly nine years after a military incursion that helped beat back fighters who had taken control of portions of the country.
Former French President Francois Hollande declared the start of France’s military intervention in Mali on February 2, 2013, in Timbuktu. At a military base where a garrison of roughly 150 soldiers had remained after France began withdrawing troops, the French flag was down and the Malian flag was raised in its place on Tuesday.
As a French military plane flew low overhead, General Etienne du Peyroux, the head of France’s Operation Barkhane military campaign in Mali, shook hands with the new camp commander and handed him a giant wooden key.
https://newsinvasion24.com/mali-french-forces-leave-timbuktu-after-nine-years/
