»Rückzug der französischen und europäischen Streitkräfte aus Mali ist ein Eingeständnis des Scheiterns«

Berlin, 17. Februar 2022

Frankreich und mehrere andere europäische Länder haben angekündigt, die Militäreinsätze Barkhane und Takuba in Mali zu beenden. #Oxfam und andere Organisationen hatten seit Langem kritisiert, dass ein rein militärischer Ansatz unzureichend ist und die Ursachen der Krise in der Sahelzone nicht beseitigen kann. Die künftigen Sicherheitsstrategien müssen vor allem den Schutz der Zivilbevölkerung ins Zentrum stellen und gleichzeitig den humanitären Zugang und den Zugang zur Grundversorgung gewährleisten. Oxfams Regionaldirektorin für die Region Westafrika, Assalama Dawalack Sidi, kommentiert …

»The announced withdrawal of French (and European) military forces from Mali is a terrible admission of failure. After almost ten years of military operations, nothing has really been resolved and much of the Central Sahel continues to be plagued by conflict: more than 2.1 million people have had to flee the violence and 13 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. The military redeployment announced today will solve nothing if lessons are not learned about the reasons for this failure.«

»For several years now, many of us have been sounding the alarm without really having been listened to about the inadequacy of the military approach that does not allow us to address the root causes of the Sahelian crisis. As long as the storm of inequality will blow, it will fuel the frustrations and sense of injustice of populations that have been marginalized for too long and the Sahel will burn.«

»Nearly ten years after the arrival of the first French troops in the Sahel, it is high time to change our approach. These last few weeks have highlighted the urgency of listening to the demands of the people, opening spaces for dialogue with transparent and inclusive governance and responding to their right to live in dignity and peace.«

»As for the new security strategies that will be put in place in the region, these must make the protection of civilians a top priority while guaranteeing humanitarian access, and access to basic services in order to facilitate the return to peace.«