Tag Archives: France

Pourquoi les tensions en Algérie inquiètent particulièrement la France

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L’annonce du retrait d’Abdelaziz Bouteflika avant la fin de son éventuel prochain mandat n’apaise pas la contestation. La France est particulièrement inquiète.

Les manifestations n’y ont rien changé. Malgré ses 82 ans, dont vingt à la tête de l’Algérie, et sa santé chancelante, en raison d’un AVC survenu en 2013, le président Abdelaziz Bouteflika a officialisé sa candidature à un cinquième mandat, le 3 mars. Son directeur l’a déposée à sa place, car le chef de l’Etat ne se déplace plus que pour se faire soigner dans un hôpital de Genève, où il se trouve actuellement. Bouteflika promet, s’il est réélu le 18 avril, de se retirer avant la fin du mandat et d’organiser une élection présidentielle anticipée, dont la date serait fixée à l’issue d’une ” conférence nationale “.

Facteur de fragilité

Les forces obscures qui tiennent le pouvoir à Alger ont donc décidé de braver la contestation populaire, d’une ampleur inédite. Quitte à mettre le pays en danger. Le camp présidentiel agite le spectre de la décennie noire de la guerre civile (1992-2002), voire celui du conflit syrien. Mais l’argument de la stabilité, qui avait déjà servi lors de l’élection présidentielle de 2014, ne tient plus : cette énième candidature d’un président malade devenu fantôme est désormais, en soi, un facteur de fragilité. La situation est à ce point explosive, à l’approche du scrutin du 18 avril, que Xavier Driencourt, l’ambassadeur de France à Alger, a été appelé au Quai d’Orsay, le 27 février dernier, afin d’en rendre compte au ministre des Affaires étrangères, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Comme toujours avec son ancienne colonie, Paris s’inquiète mais se montre d’une grande prudence, de peur d’être accusé d’ingérence. ” C’est au peuple algérien et à lui seul qu’il revient de choisir ses dirigeants, de décider de son avenir “, a déclaré Benjamin Griveaux, le porte-parole du gouvernement.

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A Review of Major Regional Security Efforts in the Sahel

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Increased attacks from militant Islamist groups in the Sahel coupled with cross-border challenges such as trafficking, migration, and displacement have prompted a series of regional and international security responses.

MINUSMA

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was established by UN Security Council Resolution 2100 on April 25, 2013. Its mandate is to provide security in support of the political process to help stabilize Mali following a push by militant Islamist groups to seize territory in the north of the country. Fifty-seven countries contribute with military personnel, including Burkina Faso, Chad, Bangladesh, Senegal, Egypt, Togo, Niger, Guinea, Germany, and China.

Military personnel are deployed to 13 sites covering 3 sectors, with headquarters in the capital Bamako:

  • Northern Sector (Kidal, Tessalit, Aguelhoc)
  • Eastern Sector (Gao, Ménaka, Ansongo)
  • Western Sector (Timbuktu, Diabaly, Douentza, Goundam, Gossi, Mopti, Sévaré)

Since 2013, there have been 191 fatalities among MINUSMA forces, including 118 from hostile forces, making this the deadliest peacekeeping mission in the world today.

G5 Sahel Joint Force

The G5 Sahel is a subregional organization established in 2014 as an intergovernmental partnership between Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger to foster economic cooperation and security in the Sahel and to respond to humanitarian and security challenges, including that of militant of Islamist groups. In 2017, the G5 launched a Joint Force (Force conjointe du G5 Sahel, FC-G5S).

The G5 Sahel Joint Force concept of operations has four pillars:

  • Combat terrorism, drug trafficking, and human trafficking
  • Contribute to the restoration of state authority and the return of displaced persons and refugees
  • Facilitate humanitarian operations and the delivery of aid to affected populations
  • Contribute to the implementation of development strategies in the G5 Sahel region

Comprising 5 million square kilometers—roughly half the land area between the European Atlantic coast and Moscow—the G5 countries have deployed troops across 3 sectors (West, Central, and East), with each sector composed of 2 to 3 battalions. Each battalion will consist of 650 troops, for a total of 5,000 troops.

In addition to the member countries, the Force is supported by a coalition of 26 countries and the European Union.

Operation Barkhane

In January 2013, France launched Operation Serval in Mali to counter a militant Islamist insurgency that threatened to topple the government in Bamako. In August 2014, Serval was transformed into Operation Barkhane, which has about 4,500 soldiers throughout the G5 Sahel countries and a budget of about $797 million per year. It has three major bases: in N’Djamena (Chad), where the headquarters and joint staff are located, as well as command posts in Gao (Mali) and Niamey (Niger).

In October 2018, Barkhane expanded its area of operations to Burkina Faso at the request of the Burkinabe government, which is facing a rise in militant Islamist group attacks.

EU Missions in Mali and Niger

  • EUTM Mali provides military training to members of the Malian Armed Forces. Its goal is to strengthen the capabilities of the Malian Armed Forces, with the ultimate result being self-sustaining armed forces capable of contributing to the defense of their population and territory.
  • EUCAP Sahel Mali provides training and advice to the national police, gendarmerie, and National Guard toward the implementation of security reforms set out by the government. Its objectives include improving operational efficiency, strengthening command and control, and reinforcing the role of judicial and administrative authorities while facilitating their redeployment to the north of the country.
  • EUCAP Sahel Niger aims to strengthen the rule of law through training, assistance, and advice to Niger’s security forces (national police, gendarmerie, and National Guard) with a view to encouraging regional and international coordination in the Sahel against terrorism and organized crime.

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