On Friday, hundreds of people took to the streets of Bamako in Mali to demonstrate against the French military presence.
The protesters demand the total withdrawal of French troops from the country, who have been present in the region since 2013.
“We are here for Mali, we are here to demonstrate our national sovereignty”, explains Mohamed Ousmane Mohamedoun, member of the National Transitional Council.
“To remind the whole world that sovereignty belongs to the people and that those who have not understood it must get in tune today. Because the transition for us, today, is the result of decades of mismanagement , bad governance of our country and bad partnerships. “
“It does not matter whether France leaves or that it always remains”, continues Coumba Yaressi, member of the M5-RFP. “What matters is that France is not in the best position to tell a country on the ground not to call on all its friends.”
In June, France announced that it wanted to halve the number of soldiers in the Sahel region by 2023, to reach around 2,500 troops in the area.
Source: New Agencies