At the tail-end of a lengthy press conference last month Emmanuel Macron announced a significant change to French policy in the Sahel. France, he said, would end the pan-Sahelian Operation Barkhane in its current form. The numbers of French troops in the region would be cut over the course of several years. In its place, a new international coalition with significant French contributions and leadership would take on responsibility for counter-terrorism operations and security force training and assistance in the Sahel.
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