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[Zmeselo]

France says West Africa's security no longer its concern as Military cooperation ends

By Olamilekan Okebiorun

https://africa.businessinsider.com/loca ... ds/9b0p3kz

26 July 2025

France's era of military engagement in West Africa is officially over, along with its direct involvement in the region's security challenges, a Reuters report confirms.



• France officially ended its military engagement in West Africa amid growing insecurity in the Sahel region.

• France's withdrawal followed significant anti-French sentiment and military coups in countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

• The French government seeks alternative, non-military approaches for maintaining relations in former colonies.

Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, France's Minister Delegate for Francophone Affairs and International Partnerships, made this point during a phone briefing with journalists in South Africa while attending G20 development discussions.

When asked by Reuters about the implications of France's military exit https://africa.businessinsider.com/loca ... on/5ge0ye3 from the Sahel amid growing insecurity, Mohamed-Soilihi stated,

I'm sorry to say, but it no longer concerns us.

However, he also mentioned that the French government is

looking for other ways to maintain ties that are not necessarily military,

suggesting a shift in approach.

France ends African military operations

His comments come just a week after France officially handed over its last major military base in the Sahel, https://africa.businessinsider.com/loca ... se/3h47j7f marking a significant turning point in its decades-long military presence in former colonies.

He then added,

That's a shame, because everyone can see the difference between now and then.

France’s Minister for Francophone Affairs, Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, dismissed concerns over France’s military withdrawal from the Sahel.

In these territories, France had previously fought jihadist insurgents, intervened in political crises, and in some cases, supported or reversed coups.

Between 2022 and 2024, France steadily dismantled its long-standing military footprint in West Africa, withdrawing its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger following military coups and rising anti-French sentiment. https://africa.businessinsider.com/loca ... es/xz9yzrq

In November 2024, Chad, one of France's last key partners in the region, ended its security cooperation agreement with Paris.

The Sahel area, stretching from Senegal to Sudan, remains one of the most unstable in Africa, with jihadist violence spreading towards Southern Africa and destabilizing some West African nations. Over a decade of insurgency has displaced millions and driven a deepening humanitarian crisis, while recent months have seen some of the deadliest attacks on record.

France's latest posture signals a shift toward diplomatic and non-military https://africa.businessinsider.com/loca ... no/lej6bzg forms of engagement in Africa, an approach major powers like the US and China have also adopted in their recent relations with African nations.

Mohamed-Soilihi emphasized that France will continue to engage with countries that seek cooperation, but without a military role.

We continue to deal with countries that so wish,

Mohamed-Soilihi said.

But France won't be able to respond to the security problems of countries with which there is no longer a relationship.

As regional insecurity worsens, African nations will increasingly have to rely on intra-continental cooperation and homegrown solutions to address shared security threats.

[Zmeselo]

Lindsey Graham sees Israel taking Gaza by force to wrap up war

The senator's comments come as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached crisis levels.


Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Gaza City on July 27, 2025. | Jehad Alshrafi/AP

By Gregory Svirnovskiy

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/2 ... e-00479406

07/27/2025

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday charted a new strategy for Israel in its war with Hamas, with the chances of a diplomatic solution to the conflict appearing increasingly remote.

I think Israel’s come to conclude that they can’t achieve a goal of ending the war with Hamas that would be satisfactory to the safety of Israel and that they’re going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin,

he told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press,” referencing the end of World War II.

Take the place by force then start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians, hopefully having the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza.

Graham’s comments come as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached crisis levels. Roughly a quarter of the exclave’s population is facing famine-like conditions, a U.N. World Food Programme official said last Monday. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/2 ... s-00476977

Democrats, international partners and even podcaster and comedian Theo Von are imploring both the U.S. and Israel to substantially increase the flow of aid into Gaza.

Israel’s military on Sunday paused fighting in three major population centers https://apnews.com/article/mideast-wars ... fe3e859216 inside Gaza to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid. Airdrops of aid have also resumed https://apnews.com/article/israel-pales ... ce877b3b90 in the area.

Israel is going to work with the U.N., the World Food Programme, to get some food into these people, who need it,

Graham told Welker.

But even against that backdrop, the likelihood of a negotiated peace appears murky. The White House exited diplomatic talks https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/2 ... s-00474523 with Hamas last week, with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff concluding that the U.S.-designated terrorist group

does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith.

I think they want to die,

Trump told reporters outside the White House https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/2 ... s-00476977 on Friday.

Israel occupied Gaza, which had been an Egyptian territory, in the 6-Day War of 1967, and it had retained forces there until June 2005; since then it has periodically sent forces into the territory in response to incursions from Hamas or to prevent them.

Graham said he agreed with the president that talks with the militant group Hamas were futile.

I think President Trump has come to believe, and I’ve certainly come to believe, there’s no way you’re going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization who is chartered to destroy the state of Israel,

he told Welker.

They’re religious Nazis.

[Zmeselo]

One of the vehicles set on fire during the attack on Taibeh

World
New attack on West Bank Christian village of Taibeh

The Christian village of Taibeh in the West Bank was once again targeted by extremist Israeli settlers in a nighttime attack, despite recent high-level visits meant to deter such violence. Local leaders are calling for impartial investigations, as official responses have failed to hold perpetrators accountable, drawing concern from international diplomats and moderate Israeli voices.

By Roberto Cetera, from Jerusalem

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/new ... ttack.html

Despite the recent visit of the heads of the Christian Churches on July 14, followed by that of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, violence against the Palestinian Christian village of Taibeh has continued unabated.

The only entirely Christian Palestinian village in the region was once again the target of an attack during the night between Sunday, 27 July and Monday.

The attack

At round 2:20 a.m., a group of settlers broke into the village, reportedly throwing stones at homes, attempting to set one house on fire, scrawling threatening messages in Hebrew on walls, and torching three vehicles, including one belonging to a journalist and another to a municipal council member.

When young Palestinians emerged to protect their homes, livestock, and families, the attackers fled. Israeli soldiers, tasked with protecting civilians, arrived more than an hour later.

These repeated assaults, carried out by groups of settlers identifying themselves as the “Hilltop Youth” and led by extremist religious figure Neria ben Pazi, had previously targeted farmland and livestock.

Violence increasingly targeted at people

Now, the violence is increasingly aimed directly at people. Though the attackers are fueled by religious fanaticism, their actions are not exclusively anti-Christian. Rather, they are part of a broader campaign against the Palestinian population, affecting nearby Muslim communities as well.

The intent appears to be the gradual displacement of Palestinians from their land, Christians among them, given that the majority of Christian communities in the Holy Land are Palestinian.

A recent Israeli police report had controversially exonerated the settlers, even suggesting they had assisted villagers in extinguishing the fires, though it remains unclear who allegedly started them.

Last night’s attack also seems to bear the mark of retaliation against the U.S. administration, whose representatives recently issued strong condemnations of settler aggression.

German Ambassador Steffen Seibert remarked:

Whether the target is a Christian village or a Muslim community, these extremist settlers may claim divine mandate, but in truth they are criminals, strangers to any authentic faith.

Attack on Taibeh

Christian witness of peace

What makes these attacks particularly grievous is the peaceful witness of the small Christian communities in the occupied West Bank.

These communities have consistently refrained from responding with violence, even when faced with provocation and attacks carried out in full view - and often under the silent watch - of Israeli military forces.

Their call remains clear: for a fair and independent investigation into these incidents, one conducted by neutral third parties, not by those directly or indirectly implicated in the violence. The findings presented thus far by Israeli authorities have raised concern even among moderate voices within Israeli society.