France announced a complete withdrawal of its military from Mali after fighting Islamist terrorists in the West African nation for nearly a decade.
A full withdrawal of about 2,400 troops will take up to six months, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, Reuters reported. All French bases will close and armed forces will instead move to Niger.
The retreat comes after Mali’s military junta, which seized control of the government in a coup, reneged on a promise to hold an election this month. The Mali government also reportedly recruited private military contractors from Russia.
A spokesperson for Mali’s military, Souleymane Dembele, told Reuters that France is leaving amid troubling times.
“I think that there has been no military solution, because terrorism has engulfed the entire territory of Mali,” he said.
Since winning independence from France in 1960, Mali has struggled with self-governance.
The current crisis began in 2012, when the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which was backed by Islamic militant groups at the time, sparked a rebellion, which in turn prompted an army coup against then-President Amadou Toumani Toure.
While the rebels gained control of much of the country, Islamist factions split from the MNLA and triggered more bloodshed.
The French intervened in 2013 at the request of Mali’s government.
The conflict has created nearly 50,000 refugees, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.