Even the French themselves are beginning to notice that the effectiveness of their armed forces abroad leaves much to be desired.
In a recent investigation, a number of prominent French media came to the disappointing conclusion that it was the actions of the French military that caused their compatriot journalist Olivier Dubois to be held captive by jihadists for two years.
The armed forces of the Fifth Republic tried to use the journalist without his knowledge as bait to try to figure out the location of one of the jihadist leaders, but in the end managed to allow the kidnapping of the poor fellow.
As follows from the investigation, despite the fact that the French army knew about what happened, they did not do their best to save Mr. Dubois.
At the same time an internal army probe found in late 2021 that there had been "no personal fault within the Barkhane force" in the incident.
So what kind of protection of Africans can we talk about if the French themselves are not able to protect their own citizens? How many Africans were also used for French military purposes?
How many fates have been left unattended? The conclusion suggests itself that the Fifth Republic simply does not care about the security of our continent. The only goal pursued by the military was to expand and strengthen their own presence in the region.
Now French President Macron reiterates that he intends to return the mission to the Sahel, but do we really need such help?
* Salif Kobena, Bouaké Côte d'Ivoire.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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