EU urged to get closer to the Sahel to counter extremism

Supporting armies to fight terrorism in countries ruled by military juntas is an 'ethical dilemma' for the EU

A woman who saw her two sons killed by gunmen during an attack in Burkina Faso and was forced out of her country by extremist attacks. AFP

European countries must stop closing embassies in the Sahel region and strengthen partnerships to counter terror threats, analysts have said.

The EU's footprint in the region has dramatically receded in the past decade after a succession of coups that have brought to power military leaders who have been shunned by the West.

Political instability has triggered further security concerns, with multiple reports of massacres of civilians that have garnered little international coverage. More than 400 people were killed in late August in Burkina Faso by an Al Qaeda affiliate group.

"What is happening in Mali, in Niger and in Burkina Faso is totally unacceptable on a daily basis," said the former foreign minister and defence minister of Mali, Tieman Coulibaly, on Monday in a public discussion on how Europeans can help stabilise the Sahel, organised by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

"Each and every day, we have reported massacres all over our territory," said Mr Coulibaly, whose country, Mali, invited the Russian mercenary Wagner, which has ties to the Kremlin, to operate on its territory in 2021 after a military coup.

One year later, France withdrew its troops, who had been deployed for nearly a decade to fight extremist groups in what it had dubbed operation Barkhane. Wagner has since fought alongside the Malian army, with both suffering heavy losses in July in a clash against separatists and an Al Qaeda affiliated group.

Instead of walking away, the EU, which ended its defence and security partnerships with Niger in December, should strengthen existing partnerships to stop countries like Russia from replacing it as a strategic partner in the region, said ECFR's Africa Programme senior policy fellow, Will Brown.

"European countries should not close their embassies. They should not slash developmental aid. They should not slash humanitarian spending. Instead, Europeans should focus on stabilising the diplomatic crisis and maintaining in-country expertise," said Mr Brown.

"We need to be supporting local bloggers, influencers, regional media outlets who are critically interrogating some of the claims or actions of powers like Russia of what they're doing in the region. We shouldn't just be working through an ambassador's Twitter account or an ambassador's Facebook account. We need to coming much more into the reality of the 21st century," he added.

"Countering false narratives is crucial," said Mr Coulibaly. "It is necessary to give the true narrative, but it is also crucial to reveal the real face of those actors so the people can understand what is really going on. The decision to invite Wagner, for example, was the [worst] deal in the history of Mali, and we're paying the high price."

The EU's Special Representative for the Sahel, Emanuela Del Re, pushed back against descriptions of the bloc's policies in the region as a "failure" and said it remains the region's biggest humanitarian donor. Yet she also recognised that there has been a lack of leadership at EU level, which has relied on the Economic Community of West African Countries (Ecowas).

Earlier this year Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso left the alliance, which numbers 12 countries and which for decades had ensured free movement of people and goods in the region. "We have seen a transformation of the European Union as, so to speak, a reference actor, but not an active actor, not a proactive actor," said Ms Del Re.

She said high-level representatives of several countries in the region had personally told her they would like the EU to continue its support with training and equipment to their military, but that this has proven an "ethical dilemma." Ms Del Re recounted a conversation with the Malian President, Colonel Assimi Goita, in which she warned him inviting Wagner to Mali would carry "consequences".

The consequences were the end of Operation Barkhane and of the EU training mission to Mali, which had trained 18,000 soldiers – more than half the country's military. "In the end, we are not present," said Ms Del Re.

"Given that we are in front of not only terrorists, but terrorists mixed with criminals, we will have to find some way of supporting the countries," she added. "Because they're really lacking military support. And we all know that Russia, by their own admission, is not providing real support. They are providing an illusion of support."