Senegal to expel all foreign troops
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has declared that all foreign military personnel stationed in the country must withdraw by the end of July.
French troops remain the only foreign military presence in Senegal, operating under a 2012 defense partnership agreement. As part of a phased withdrawal, France officially transferred control of the Rear Admiral Protet naval base in Dakar to Senegalese authorities on May 15. This follows the earlier handover of the Marshall and Saint-Exupéry facilities in March. The remaining bases are scheduled to be transferred in subsequent phases.
Speaking to Burkina Faso's national broadcaster RTB on Monday, Sonko said that since his administration came to power nearly a year ago, it had taken a number of steps to assert national sovereignty.
'We have notified all countries that have military bases in Senegal that we demand a complete withdrawal. There will be no more foreign military bases on Senegalese territory,' he stated.
According to the prime minister, the withdrawal process is already underway. He confirmed that one foreign military base was vacated just two days prior to the interview and stressed that the handover of another facility would be completed by the end of July.
Sonko framed the move as a normal assertion of sovereignty, stating that Senegal has 'a national army, defense and security forces. We think we are able to ensure our own safety.' He also called on other African nations to take greater control of their own destinies.
In November 2023, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye called the presence of French troops 'incompatible' with national sovereignty. His newly elected administration has taken a firm stance on scaling back France's military footprint in the country.
Several West African nations, including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, have severed all military ties with France in recent years, citing frustration with French-led counterterrorism efforts and a desire to seek out alternative partners like Russia.
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Russia Today
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- Russia Today
Armed, economic and media terrorism: What is France doing in Africa?
'Our enemies are many and they stand ready to exploit our every weakness,' but 'Neither brutality nor cruelty nor torture will ever bring me to ask for mercy, for I prefer to die with my head unbowed, my faith unshakable and with profound trust in the destiny of my country, rather than live under subjection'. These statements by Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba capture the predicaments of the members of the Alliance of Sahel States, comprising Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger (AES) which have faced relentless terrorist insurgencies despite decades of military operations by former colonial powers. More than a security pact, the AES is sending a message of unequivocal rejection to neocolonial projects, signaling a shift towards absolute sovereignty, investing in local solutions and industrialization and building new strategic alliances. However, history offers a cautionary reminder to Africans that pan-Africanists like Patrice Lumumba, Muammar Gaddafi and Kwame Nkrumah paid the ultimate price for such ambitions, either with their lives or being overthrown through coups supported by the invisible hands of the colonial ghosts. To this end, the move by the AES is a daring bid to end what it considers neocolonialism. But will the beneficiaries of the old order allow them to succeed? Africa has been a theatre of conflict since the imperial partition of the continent by colonial powers at the Berlin conference 1884/1885. The colonial states carved up the continent without considering the kingdoms or ethnicities that existed at the time, leading to series of inter-ethnic clashes and conflicts between the imperial powers and the colonies. In the Sahel, the colonial footprint remains profound as all three members of the Alliance of Sahel States (Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger) were formally allocated to France as colonies following the partition. Using the policy of assimilation, these countries were directly placed under the French ministry of colonies by 1895 as an integral part of the French West African colonies until its dissolution in 1960. The integration by the French in the 18th century was a calculated response to strengthen its economic and military power and address demographic imbalances to counter arch-rival Germany, whose population had burgeoned while that of France had stagnated. An assertion that was admitted by French president Charles De Gaulle on April 11, 1961: 'We French were building our Empire at a time when our domestic activity had reached a kind of ceiling: industry that barely innovated; agriculture that did not involve change; unchanging trade flows; fixed wages and salaries […]. On the other hand, our ambitions were here: European sovereignty and natural borders collided with the barriers of the treaties of 1815 and, after 1870, with the unity and strength of a threatening Germany. So, we sought in distant territories a new career for our surplus entrepreneurial resources, a complement to our prestige, soldiers for our defense. […] What France has achieved in this capacity and in this form overseas, it has no reason to regret at all… always brings honor to France'. As colonialism waned, France insisted upon keeping these countries under its influence. Consequently, Paris ruled out any form of autonomy outside the French empire. This was emphasized by the then French Commissioner for the Colonies, René Pleven, during the Brazzaville Conference on January 30, 1944. He said: 'There are populations whom we intend to lead step by step to personality, and the most mature of them will be given political franchise, but they desire no independence other than French independence'. However, this move culminated in chaos as countries such as Guinea defiantly rejected every effort to remain a lifetime colony. France used brute-force to sabotage critical sectors of the country, such as the power grid and sewage system, in what was known as Operation Persil. Consequently, other colonies in Africa, including all three members of the AES, succumbed to Paris' demands, placing their security and economy under the influence of the French government as part of the neo-colonial Francafrique policy. France signed several accords with Francophone African countries which became known as the Francafrique. The accords actually legitimized French military intervention in the African countries. According to the Taiwan Center for Security studies, the accords included French military installations, the French West Africa zone with the ESF (éléments français au Sénégal) – created with the stated goals of keeping an eye on all of West Africa – and granted unhindered permission to France to use military force to intervene in any signatory nation. France utilized this as an opportunity to defend pro-French regimes, such as that of Mobutu Sese Seko in resource-rich Zaire (now DR Congo), Leon M'Ba in Gabon in 1964, and to overthrew leaders that threatened French interests through coups such as the Palace coup at Bangui and the ascent to power of the pro-French ruler, David Dacko in Central African Republic. In the 21st century, French security cooperation in West Africa has largely taken the form of counterterrorism operations, as all the Sahelian States have been blighted by terrorism. In an attempt to find African solutions through regional security initiatives, the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African Sates (ECOWAS) launched the African International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) in January 2013. Initially with 5300 troops, later expanded to 7700, it was set up to combat terrorism in Mali and prevent its spread to the rest of the Sahel region. In the same year France, in an attempt to retain its supremacy as the primary military actor in the region, launched its own counterterrorism military operations in the Sahel, codenamed Operation Serval with a similar troop count. While the AFISMA was barely mentioned, the French-led mission was extensively covered, a situation that worsened after the United Nations joined the operation. On 1st July, 2013, West African troops were incorporated into the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) established in 2013 with with around 6000 troops, later increased to over 15700. The ECOWAS-AU mission was completely sidelined,paving the way for several European-led missions to enter the Sahel. The French utilized the opportunity to expand its foothold by launching another military operation, Barkhane, in 2014. With 1800 staff, it led the operations of the European Takuba task force, which included staff from Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Estonia, Czech Republic and Belgium. Nevertheless, the quest for an African solution was not quenched, at least in principle. A new attempt to find an African military solution arose in 2014 with the establishment of the G5 Sahel, a union between Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania. 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'After having experienced insecurity imposed by the state of nature, the observation concerning Mali is appalling: Violated, humiliated, pillaged and torpedoed, abandoned in mid-flight and stabbed in the back. The expressions are not exhaustive to describe the suffering undergone by the Malian people and the Defense and Security Forces'. Maiga also recalled that the previous year AES member states had sent a joint letter to the UN Security Council to condemn Ukraine's support for international terrorism; denounce aggression against Mali; and demand that the council take appropriate measures against the Ukrainian government. He criticized France for aggression against Mali and its involvement in promoting terrorism in the Sahel through 'armed, economic and media terrorism'. 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This alliance distinguishes itself from the FC-GS5 due to its focus on independence and sovereignty, reflected in the preamble of the Charter of Liptako-Gourma establishing the alliance, which calls for 'the need full exercise and respect of national and international sovereignty'. Even though several pan-Africanists have been directly or indirectly eliminated by colonial ghosts, their ideological legacies persist, unsettling the very structures that sought to erase them. As Nkrumah said, 'I am in the knowledge that death can never extinguish the torch which I have lit in Ghana and Africa. Long after I am dead and gone, the light will continue to burn and be borne aloft, giving light and guidance to all people'.
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Russia Today
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Banned ex-Romanian presidential front-runner quits politics
Former Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu has stated that he will be withdrawing from politics, following the victory of a pro-EU candidate in a presidential election rerun from which he was banned, earlier this month. Georgescu, a former UN official, ran as an independent in Romania's November 2024 presidential election, campaigning on national sovereignty, criticism of Bucharest's involvement in NATO and the EU, and opposition to continued military aid for Ukraine. Having won the initial round of voting, his victory was annulled by the country's Constitutional Court, citing 'irregularities' in his campaign along with intelligence reports alleging Russian interference—claims Moscow has denied. The election was rerun on May 18 without Georgescu on the ballot. In a video address published on Monday, Georgescu stated that he has chosen to become a 'passive observer of public and social life' and to end his 'active involvement in the political process, considering that this stage of the sovereignist movement has ended from my point of view.' He also stated that he would not join or lead any political party or attempt to hold 'any position in the Romanian state in the current situation.' Instead, Georgescu said he will focus his attention and energy on his family. Georgescu left open the possibility of returning to public life, if he sees that 'the rights of those who have chosen differently are being violated or injustices and abuses arise.' Romania's electoral authorities banned Georgescu from taking part in this month's rerun - a decision that was also upheld by the Constitutional Court, citing alleged violations of campaign finance rules and national security concerns. He was replaced on the ballot by Euroskeptic candidate George Simion - the leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party. Simion lost in the second round of voting to Bucharest Mayor and EU supporter Nicusor Dan. The right-wing candidate has since refused to recognize the results, citing a 'coordinated international interference' campaign. Moscow has described Romania's latest election as 'strange, at the very least,' noting that Dan did not secure victory until Georgescu - the frontrunner - was disqualified. Telegram founder Pavel Durov also claimed last week that Nicolas Lerner, the head of French foreign intelligence, personally urged him to censor conservative voices on the platform ahead of the Romanian election.
