The problems of the Sahel region have taken a central part of the Mediterranean Dialogues conference, taking place in Rome on December 2-3.
Participants of the conference paid special attention to security in the region.
“The Sahel is renowned today for terrorist violence that occurred for the past 10 years. Niger, my country, lies precisely between the territory of Mali and the basin of Lake Chad. This is why we are facing the two biggest active terrorist outbreaks in the world," Mohamed Bazoum, the president of Niger stated.
Emanuela Del Re, the EU’s Special Representative for Sahel, in turn, expressed the opinion that the problem of terrorism in the region stems from “the lack of access to basic services” and “the fact that people don’t have any opportunity to realize themselves or find a position is society”.
Talking about the EU’s activities in Sahel, Del Re called the EU “the most natural partners” of Sahel, “that respond to the aspirations of the populations”. This statement, however, comes amid the growing dissatisfaction of the Sahel states with the activities of the EU member states in the region.
France is one of the European countries which has been present in the Sahel to fight terrorism for many years. Meanwhile, experts note that the security situation in the African region has not improved during its presence.
In August, Mali’s government accused France of assisting terrorists on its soil instead of fighting them. In particular, Mali stated that it had “several pieces of evidence” that France had repeatedly violated the African country’s airspace “to collect intelligence for the benefit of terrorist groups operating in the Sahel and to drop arms and ammunition on them”.
The same month, France completed withdrawal of its troops from Mali, but it wasn't the end of the story. In late November, Mali’s government banned the activities of all French non-governmental organizations operating in Mali, including non-governmental organizations, operating in the humanitarian field.
Mali isn't the only country to be dissatisfied with France's anti-terrorist activities in Africa. In late September, anti-French protests took place in another country in the Sahel, Niger, where France has relocated its troops, after withdrawing them from Mali.
In addition to France, which operates in the Sahel independently, many other European nations are present in the region within the framework of the UN's peacekeeping mission MINUSMA. However, in recent months, several European powers have announced plans to withdraw their troops from the peacekeeping organization.
Germany, in particular, announced last month that it would withdraw its troops from Mali ahead of schedule in 2024. Similar statements were made by several other European countries, such as the UK and Sweden.
The withdrawal of European forces from Mali comes as protests demanding that MINUSMA leave the country are carrying on, with some protesters reportedly accusing the organization of undermining Mali's sovereignty.
The Mediterranean Dialogues conference is an annual event held in Rome and sponsored by Italy with the goal of analyzing and proposing solutions to regional and international problems.