Several dozen people demonstrated in a town in northern Mali on Sunday to speed up the departure of the French Barkhane military force, organizers and local elected officials said. “We give as of this day, Sunday, August 14, 2022, an ultimatum of 72 hours for the definitive departure of Barkhane,” declared the protesters who presented themselves as “the living forces” of Gao, a city gripped by jihadist violence.

Gao is also home to the last French soldiers present in Mali, who are leaving for Niger.

“No foreign power will make Mali its booty”

Relations between the ruling junta in Bamako and Paris, a former colonial power, have deteriorated sharply in recent months, pushing the two countries apart after nine years of uninterrupted French presence to fight jihadists.

“Barkhane liberates”, “Barkhane godfather and ally of terrorist groups”, “No foreign power will make Mali its loot”, the demonstrators brandished banners, according to photographs transmitted by the organizers to AFP.

These messages circulate in particular in fiercely anti-French circles and on social media. France regularly denounces the massive disinformation campaigns against it.

“The protesters were received by the governor’s chief of staff, to whom they handed their statement,” said Issa Idrissa, the governor’s communications officer.