The people of the city of Sévaré in central Mali have taken to the streets to demand the departure of foreign forces present in their country.
By Mohamed Dagnoko
Wednesday’s demonstration followed raids on the Boulikessy military camps and the Mondoro checkpoint which were blamed on terrorists.
The city dwellers gathered very early on Wednesday to demand the “departure of foreign forces” from their country.
“The presence of the MINUSMA and Barkhane is of no use to us. The attacks since their arrival have not decreased, on the contrary, they have only increased” a demonstrator said on a video posted on social media.
“MINUSMA is at the root of terrorism to benefit from UN money. Justice must be done. The defence agreement between Mali and France must be revised” were some of the slogans visible on the banners and placards shown by the demonstrators.
On October 2, women of the 33rd Parachute Commandos camp demonstrated to demand to know the exact figures of those who died following the attack on the Boulkessy camp.
Despite the presence of 13,000 MINUSMA troops in Mali and the French Barkhane forces, there have been “2200 attacks, 11500 deaths, thousands of wounded” according to Jean Claude Brou, President of the ECOWAS Commission.
MDS/cd/as/lb