international
in the country although, perhaps,
it could provide a way out of the
permanent crisis in which it is mired.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of
the Rassemblement pour le Mali (RPM)
party, who came to power in 2013
preceded by a reputation for honesty
and a very high degree of popularity,
did not make much progress in his
seven years in power.
Mali should not have to be a poor
country. It is Africa’s third largest
gold producer and the tenth largest in
the world. It has deposits of bauxite,
manganese, iron, uranium and oil
(production has obviously been highly
mediatized due to the war since 2012).
However, in his second term Keïta has
not managed to maintain a minimum
amount of control over the country
and his government has been greatly
challenged on the streets
by some of the biggest
demonstrations ever seen
in Bamako.
The tensions are manifold.
On the one hand, there is
convergence in the country
of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State
franchises (some consider
that this could be the region
where they might try to
regroup after practically
disappearing in the Middle
East), with their different
interpretations of religion
and, above all, of the
way of implementing the
Caliphate. On the other
hand, tribal and ethnic
hatred between sedentary
and nomadic groups is being
exacerbated by uncontrolled
population growth and
dwindling resources as the desert advances.
The desperation caused by poverty
and violence pushes young people to
join the most radical terrorist groups
or to seek a way out with the human
trafficking mafias which, like the
slavers of yesteryear, cross the desert
with their merchandise in search of
the coast. Naturally, terrorists and
traffickers share the same routes and
often find synergies in their activities.
Mali needs help to develop its
capabilities, but to do so it needs to
regain a safe environment for business
and life itself. However, much of the
central area of the country has become
ungovernable due to the presence of
terrorists and the number of internally
displaced people has quadrupled in
the past two years; this is in addition
to the refugees in neighbouring
countries and those who have decided
to take the uncertain path towards the
Mediterranean.
The approach to aid must therefore
avoid creating dependency on donors,
but rather provide a basis that allows
Malian society to build its own future.
A society that will have to rely on its
women and young people and that
will have to strengthen its traditions,
as Senegal has done for example, to
avoid becoming easy prey for radical
movements.
The Malian Army, whose management
some consider one-sided, has been
Perpetrators of the military coup against President Keïta on the
streets of Bamako, 20 August.
overwhelmed in this mission. The
European Union, led by France, has
launched several initiatives to support it.
EUTM Mali aims to provide training, the
G5 Sahel Joint Force aims to eliminate
cross-border impunity, and Task Force
Takuba aims to involve European forces in
accompanying the missions.
AFRICOM FORCES
The United States Africa Command
(AFRICOM) forces have so far
played their role in the region, but
their continuity is being questioned
by President Trump (there are an
estimated 1,400 US troops in the Sahel,
which include special operations units
and two drone bases in Niger). On the
other hand, both Russia and China are
increasingly present in an area that
could become one of the poles of world
competition in the medium term.
For Europe, however, the Sahel
is not just another operation, nor is
it some remote setting where battles
are waged on the great geopolitical
chessboard. The Sahelian strip should
be among the Union’s main concerns,
as a collapse of the fragile local
governance, apart from causing an
immense humanitarian disaster, would
provoke waves of instability that would
break on the shores of Europe. It also
represents a challenge to Europe’s
ability and willingness to assume
greater responsibilities in security
and defence matters.
Spain is on the front line
and is therefore directly
affected. There is a duty of
solidarity and, of course, a
duty to prevent threats to
our security before they
become uncontrollable. In
this regard, on 2 September
last the Spanish Minister of
Defence, Margarita Robles,
took part in the video
conference meeting held
by the member countries
of the Coalition for the
Sahel (France, Belgium, the
Czech Republic, Canada,
Estonia, Greece, Italy,
Norway, Portugal and
Sweden, as well as EU and
UN representatives). The
meeting focused on the
crisis in Mali and, during
H. Diakite/EFE
her speech, Minister Robles stressed
“the importance of the international
community sending a message of unity
in defence of democracy” and after
emphasizing “the danger that terrorist
organizations operating in the area
might take advantage of the situation
by threatening peace and stability”, she
insisted on “Spain’s commitment to the
people of Mali”, which is embodied in our
contribution to the training mission that
the EU is carrying out in this country.
Colonel Ángel Gómez de Ágreda
Head of Geopolitical Analysis Area
General Secretariat for Defence Policy (SEGENPOL)
December 2020 Revista Española de Defensa 23