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French President Emmanuel Macron is holding a news conference on Thursday at the Élysée Palace, after African and Western leaders met in Paris on Wednesday night to start fleshing out plans for how to continue fighting Islamist militants in the Sahel region once France and its European allies begin pulling troops out of Mali. Follow FRANCE 24 for live updates.
7:10 am Paris time: Pull-out announcement expected ahead of EU-Africa summit in Brussels
Four European diplomatic sources told Reuters that an announcement on the withdrawal of France’s Barkhane operation and European Takuba special forces from Mali would be made ahead of a European Union-Africa summit in Brussels on Thursday.
The decision follows a deterioration in French relations with Mali after its military junta reneged on a deal to organise elections in February, proposing to hold power until 2025. Mali has also accepted a deployment of Russian private military contractors, dismaying some European countries who say the Russian presence is incompatible with their mission.
6:55 am Paris time: Macron to hold press conference on ‘France’s engagement in the Sahel’
French President Emmanuel Macron is to travel to Brussels Thursday for a two-day EU-Africa summit. But the French presidency announced he would first hold a press conference at 9am local time on “France’s engagement in the Sahel” at the Élysée Palace, where he is likely to make the formal announcement.
6:40 am Paris time: Macron hosts African leaders ahead of expected withdrawal
President Emmanuel Macron welcomed African leaders for dinner in Paris Wednesday ahead of an expected announcement that France is withdrawing its troops from Mali after nearly 10 years fighting a jihadist insurgency in the region. Multiple sources have told AFP that Macron will announce that French forces will leave Mali and redeploy elsewhere in the Sahel region.
The working dinner hosted by Macron on Wednesday brought together the leaders of France’s key allies in the Sahel region – Chad, Mauritania and Niger. Officials from Mali and Burkina Faso, the latter of which also recently underwent a coup d’état, were not invited.
Other African leaders were also present along with European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP & REUTERS)
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