France finally pulls out soldiers from Mali  

France on Monday finally pulled out its soldiers from Mali, West Africa, following the military coup in the country. The French chiefs of staff disclosed on Monday that the last soldiers assigned to France’s Barkhane operation in Mali have departed the West African Francophone country.

The French forces were withdrawn from providing military support to Mali in the fight with terrorists and Islamic jihadists over a decade. President Emmanuel Macron ordered the pull out of forces from Mali in the aftermath of a military takeover.

The French chiefs of staff in a statement declared: “Today, at 13H00 Paris time (1100 GMT), the final contingent of the Barkhane force still on Malian territory crossed the border between Mali and Niger.”

The statement added that the army had met the “major military logistics challenge” of the pull-out “in an orderly and safe fashion”.

France became infuriated when the military took over the power in Mali in August 2020 in the francophone country. France commenced withdrawal of troops from Mali in February.