The Clandestine War On Africa: France s Endgame In Mali
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France s clandestine war in Mali
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In a recent report, the United Nations Mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, concluded that, on January 3, French warplanes had struck a crowd attending a wedding in the remote village of Bounti, killing 22 of the guests.
According to the findings, based on a thorough investigation and interviews with hundreds of eyewitnesses, 19 of the guests were unarmed civilians whose killing constitutes a war crime.
Unlike other wars in the region, the French war in Mali receives little media coverage outside the limited scope of French-speaking media.
Mali s colonial past
However, the story has less to do with Islamist militancy and much to do with foreign interventions. Anti-French sentiment in Mali goes back over a century when, in 1892, France colonised that once-thriving African kingdom, exploiting its resources and reordering its territories as a way to weaken its population and to break down its social structures.