Europe faces dilemma with Africa’s Sahel ‘coup belt’
French soldiers in Mali's Menaka army base on December 7, 2021. French troops have been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso, and France has announced its withdrawal of troops from Niger. PHOTO | AFP
Civilians in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have been joining their junta leaders to celebrate the decision by French President Emmanuel Macron to withdraw troops from Niger, seeing it as a victory against neo-colonialism.
But the French, or Europeans in general, may still have to befriend the new military rulers for a political bigger picture.
