Two weeks ago, a terrorist attack by groups linked to Al-Qaeda killed two people in the Malian capital Bamako and sparked a new round of escalated tension in the West African state. Today, there have been significant developments towards ending the violence in Mali as the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and their West African neighbors have created a new military unit to combat terrorism in the Sahel. The Sahel is a region comprising part of Northern Mali which Macron alleges is a hideout for criminals and terrorists like Al-Qaeda. Macron added that “Every day we must combat terrorists, thugs, murderers whose names and faces we must forget, but whom we must steadfastly and with determination eradicate together.” Fire and brimstone rhetoric aside, by forming a coalition with Mali, Chad, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger, as well as existing United Nations peacekeepers in the region may not slow down terrorist activity be it in Mali or other countries which those criminal elements in the Sahel may seek to go.
The reason for that is not a lack of good intention but all five of those African states listed rank in the bottom half of the world’s countries in terms of Gross Domestic Product meaning money is not exactly flowing and that any counterinsurgency operations would have to be significantly bankrolled from the outside. Although the European Union has committed roughly 60 million dollars to the project it is unknown whether that amount will be enough to sustain the operation or whether they would contribute additional funds if needed to not only train the military forces but also supply them for the duration of the operation. Making these questions of funding even more pertinent is that President Macron has stated his desire for this force to be up and running within a matter of weeks. The end result sought by this force would not only be the elimination of Al-Qaeda in Mali but also an end to Mali’s ongoing civil war.
