French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday&nbsp;announced an official end to the country’s nearly nine-year-long ‘Operation Barkhane’, its anti-jihadist operation in the Sahel region of Africa. The French President travelled to a naval base at Toulon in South France to make the announcement.

The development comes after the French soldiers withdrew from Mali on August 15, 2022. The development also marks a strategic shift for the French military forces deployed in the Sahel region of Western Africa, which are assisting several countries to contain jihadist insurgencies.

The Sahel region consists of the vast semi-arid and mostly inhospitable region of Africa, separating the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south. It includes parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.&nbsp;

The announcement&nbsp;will have no impact on the French military presence in the Sahel region. About 3,000 French troops will remain deployed in Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso.&nbsp;The goal is "to reduce the exposure and visibility of our military forces in Africa and to focus on cooperation and support; mainly in terms of equipment, training, intelligence and operational partnerships for countries that want it," an official from the French President office was quoted as saying by AFP.&nbsp;

These forces will operate in coordination with the concerned government armed forces to assist them in anti-jihadist operations.

WATCH |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/growing-international-concern-over-the-situation-in-mali-443487">Growing international concern over the situation in Mali</a>

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The French troops' deployment was launched in 2013 when the jihadist insurgents took over much of northern Mali before being pushed away by the French and their regional partners.&nbsp;

At its peak,&nbsp;the French forces numbered 5,500.&nbsp;Mali's military leaders remain in power in the capital Bamako due to alleged collusion with the Russia-backed Wagner group.

The French army, along with its partners in the region consisting of Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Mauritiana, had left Mali in mid-August after nine years of continuous fighting with the Jihadist forces.&nbsp;

France's anti-jihadist operation in Mali: A dangerous quest for 'peace'

The local hostility to the French forces, stoked by disinformation on social media and in part by the country's own record of colonialism in the region, made France's 'Operation Barkhane', a dangerous quest for 'peace', as French forces repeatedly asserted. The last nail was the 2020 coup in Mali, whose leaders accused France of interference and turned to Russia's Wagner group for security. A recent report by the Strategic Research Institute of the Military School (Irsem), which is part of the French Ministry of Defense, described the "proliferation of disinformation content online, most often intended to denigrate the French presence and justify that of Russia" in Mali.

Macron to draw a line under anti-jihadist campaign

Reports say that Macron wants to draw a public line under the campaign and that France is not abandoning its fight against extremists in the region but its terms of engagement will be different.

"Our soldiers remain covered, protected, supported, administered in conditions that are satisfactory" but the official announcement is "necessary locally", a statement from the French Presidential office said.&nbsp;

"In the field of perceptions, Barkhane continues to occupy a very important presence on social networks. It is necessary to put a clear end to it in order to switch to another logic", it concluded.

(With inputs from agencies)

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French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced an official end to the country’s nearly nine-year-long ‘Operation Barkhane’, its anti-jihadist operation in the Sahel region of Africa.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced an official end to the country’s nearly nine-year-long ‘Operation Barkhane’, its anti-jihadist operation in the Sahel region of Africa. The French President travelled to a naval base at Toulon in South France to make the announcement. The development comes after the French soldiers withdrew from Mali on August 15, 2022. The development also marks a strategic shift for the French military forces deployed in the Sahel region of Western Africa, which are assisting several countries to contain jihadist insurgencies. The Sahel region consists of the vast semi-arid and mostly inhospitable region of Africa, separating the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south. It includes parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. The announcement will have no impact on the French military presence in the Sahel region. About 3,000 French troops will remain deployed in Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso. The goal is "to reduce the exposure and visibility of our military forces in Africa and to focus on cooperation and support; mainly in terms of equipment, training, intelligence and operational partnerships for countries that want it," an official from the French President office was quoted as saying by AFP. These forces will operate in coordination with the concerned government armed forces to assist them in anti-jihadist operations. WATCH | Growing international concern over the situation in Mali × The French troops' deployment was launched in 2013 when the jihadist insurgents took over much of northern Mali before being pushed away by the French and their regional partners. At its peak, the French forces numbered 5,500. Mali's military leaders remain in power in the capital Bamako due to alleged collusion with the Russia-backed Wagner group. The French army, along with its partners in the region consisting of Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Mauritiana, had left Mali in mid-August after nine years of continuous fighting with the Jihadist forces. France's anti-jihadist operation in Mali: A dangerous quest for 'peace' The local hostility to the French forces, stoked by disinformation on social media and in part by the country's own record of colonialism in the region, made France's 'Operation Barkhane', a dangerous quest for 'peace', as French forces repeatedly asserted. The last nail was the 2020 coup in Mali, whose leaders accused France of interference and turned to Russia's Wagner group for security. A recent report by the Strategic Research Institute of the Military School (Irsem), which is part of the French Ministry of Defense, described the "proliferation of disinformation content online, most often intended to denigrate the French presence and justify that of Russia" in Mali. Macron to draw a line under anti-jihadist campaign Reports say that Macron wants to draw a public line under the campaign and that France is not abandoning its fight against extremists in the region but its terms of engagement will be different. "Our soldiers remain covered, protected, supported, administered in conditions that are satisfactory" but the official announcement is "necessary locally", a statement from the French Presidential office said. "In the field of perceptions, Barkhane continues to occupy a very important presence on social networks. It is necessary to put a clear end to it in order to switch to another logic", it concluded. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Macron announces end of anti-jihadist 'Operation Barkhane' in Africa's Sahel region

As French authorities declared the &ldquo;Jungle&rdquo; camp in Calais as closed, aid groups raised serious concerns over the plight of unaccompanied children left without shelter overnight at the migrant camp, CNN reported.

The interior ministry said on Wednesday that nearly 5,600 migrants had been taken into shelters around France or accepted into Britain, out of the 6,400 estimated by authorities to have been living in the camp up until this week, news agency AFP reported.

But scores of migrants were left behind, some of whom slept in the biting cold, huddled together in sleeping bags.

About 1,200 migrant children remained at the site, where fires blazed on Wednesday, as they awaited processing, CNN reported.

&quot;This is the end of the &#39;Jungle&#39;,&quot; Calais regional prefect Fabienne Buccio said. &quot;Mission accomplished.&quot;

Muhammad, a 16-year-old Egyptian migrant, told CNN he had slept rough because he was not registered by the authorities, a process that would have allowed him to sleep inside shipping containers at the site.

He said he had slept on the ground just in front of the containers, with some 20 to 30 other minors, CNN reported.

Migrants fleeing poverty and war in West Asia, Asia and Africa had gathered in Calais hoping to cross the short stretch of sea to Britain by leaping on trucks and trains.

(WION)

Scores of migrants were left behind, some of whom slept in the biting cold, huddled together in sleeping bags

As French authorities declared the “Jungle” camp in Calais as closed, aid groups raised serious concerns over the plight of unaccompanied children left without shelter overnight at the migrant camp, CNN reported. The interior ministry said on Wednesday that nearly 5,600 migrants had been taken into shelters around France or accepted into Britain, out of the 6,400 estimated by authorities to have been living in the camp up until this week, news agency AFP reported. But scores of migrants were left behind, some of whom slept in the biting cold, huddled together in sleeping bags. About 1,200 migrant children remained at the site, where fires blazed on Wednesday, as they awaited processing, CNN reported. "This is the end of the 'Jungle'," Calais regional prefect Fabienne Buccio said. "Mission accomplished." Muhammad, a 16-year-old Egyptian migrant, told CNN he had slept rough because he was not registered by the authorities, a process that would have allowed him to sleep inside shipping containers at the site. He said he had slept on the ground just in front of the containers, with some 20 to 30 other minors, CNN reported. Migrants fleeing poverty and war in West Asia, Asia and Africa had gathered in Calais hoping to cross the short stretch of sea to Britain by leaping on trucks and trains. (WION)

Calais: Aid groups raise concerns over children with no shelter at 'jungle' camp

A group of about 20 workers began on Tuesday to slowly destroy the Calais &quot;Jungle&quot; camp structures using sledgehammers and by hand, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene.&nbsp;

Almost 2,000 migrants left the camp on Monday as a massive operation to clear the settlement was announced.

Hundreds carrying suitcases queued outside a hangar to be resettled in reception centres across France.

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Monday four hundred minors were transferred to &quot;provisional reception centres&quot; within the camp. 
&nbsp; 
Early Tuesday, scores of minors awaited their turn to be interviewed by French and British officials, news agency AFP reported.

Among them was Alaa, a 17-year-old from Iraq&#39;s second city Mosul, who said he fled his country with his 25-year-old brother when the Islamic State launched its offensive into northern Iraq in 2014.

&quot;We had no choice but to flee,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;If they want to kill you they kill you.&quot;

But life in the Jungle has been &quot;really horrible&quot;, Alla further added. &quot;I had my phone stolen, I was beaten, I was threatened.&quot;

His brother managed to sneak into Britain and join an uncle there, but Alaa stayed back because &quot;it was far too frightening and dangerous&quot;, AFP quoted him as saying.

There is a federal election in France in May of 2017, and how to deal with the Calais Jungle is a contentious issue. France&#39;s government has billed the enormous operation to clear the camp as &quot;humanitarian&quot;. But there were confrontations this weekend between riot police armed with tear gas and groups of refugees throwing stones, who do not want to be relocated in France because they still intend on reaching Britain.

The BBC reports that the UK has begun to accept some of the nearly 1,300 unaccompanied children from the camp.&nbsp;

While Sky News reports that in July, the charity Citizens UK gave the British government a list with the names of 178 minors on it, all who have family in the UK. Under the law, they are entitled to be reunited with their family.

Identifying the camp inhabitants can be very difficult. Since many seek the protection afforded to youth, they are incentivised to lie about their age and say they&#39;re younger than they are. Also, many may official identification, making it impossible to say for sure who or how old they are.

Dozens of riot police vehicles and other trucks carrying equipment had earlier set off in the direction of the operation centre, an AFP correspondent saw.

Around 1,250 police and security officials have been mobilised.

In February, the southern half of the &quot;jungle&quot; was demolished, as the government hoped it would help disperse residents to the remaining inhabitants to other camps in France. While some did, many simply moved north, increasing the already dense population of the Calais camp.

Britain and France signed the so-called Le Touquet border treaty, which effectively moved Britain&#39;s border with France to the French side of the Channel, in 2003.

Located on wasteland next to the port of Calais, the four-square-kilometre (1.5-square-mile) Jungle has become a symbol of Europe&#39;s failure to resolve its worst migration crisis since World War II.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

Almost 2,000 migrants left the camp on Monday as a massive operation to clear the settlement was announced

A group of about 20 workers began on Tuesday to slowly destroy the Calais "Jungle" camp structures using sledgehammers and by hand, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. Almost 2,000 migrants left the camp on Monday as a massive operation to clear the settlement was announced. Hundreds carrying suitcases queued outside a hangar to be resettled in reception centres across France. French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Monday four hundred minors were transferred to "provisional reception centres" within the camp. Early Tuesday, scores of minors awaited their turn to be interviewed by French and British officials, news agency AFP reported. Among them was Alaa, a 17-year-old from Iraq's second city Mosul, who said he fled his country with his 25-year-old brother when the Islamic State launched its offensive into northern Iraq in 2014. "We had no choice but to flee," he told AFP. "If they want to kill you they kill you." But life in the Jungle has been "really horrible", Alla further added. "I had my phone stolen, I was beaten, I was threatened." His brother managed to sneak into Britain and join an uncle there, but Alaa stayed back because "it was far too frightening and dangerous", AFP quoted him as saying. There is a federal election in France in May of 2017, and how to deal with the Calais Jungle is a contentious issue. France's government has billed the enormous operation to clear the camp as "humanitarian". But there were confrontations this weekend between riot police armed with tear gas and groups of refugees throwing stones, who do not want to be relocated in France because they still intend on reaching Britain. The BBC reports that the UK has begun to accept some of the nearly 1,300 unaccompanied children from the camp. While Sky News reports that in July, the charity Citizens UK gave the British government a list with the names of 178 minors on it, all who have family in the UK. Under the law, they are entitled to be reunited with their family. Identifying the camp inhabitants can be very difficult. Since many seek the protection afforded to youth, they are incentivised to lie about their age and say they're younger than they are. Also, many may official identification, making it impossible to say for sure who or how old they are. Dozens of riot police vehicles and other trucks carrying equipment had earlier set off in the direction of the operation centre, an AFP correspondent saw. Around 1,250 police and security officials have been mobilised. In February, the southern half of the "jungle" was demolished, as the government hoped it would help disperse residents to the remaining inhabitants to other camps in France. While some did, many simply moved north, increasing the already dense population of the Calais camp. Britain and France signed the so-called Le Touquet border treaty, which effectively moved Britain's border with France to the French side of the Channel, in 2003. Located on wasteland next to the port of Calais, the four-square-kilometre (1.5-square-mile) Jungle has become a symbol of Europe's failure to resolve its worst migration crisis since World War II. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Calais 'jungle': Demolition begins in massive migrant camp