By Oumar Sankare
BAMAKO, Mali - Mali celebrated its 64th year of independence from French occupation on Sunday with President Assimi Goita presiding over a ceremony in Bamako.
The celebrations are taking place days after trainee paramilitary and police personnel were killed in a terror attack on the Faladie Gendarmerie School in the capital.
The land-locked West African nation gained independence from France on June 20, 1960, as the Sudanese Republic which later broke after Senegal withdrew from the federation and the Republic of Mali was formally formed.
Mali, a multi-party nation, is run by a military administration since August 2020.
Amid challenges of terrorism, Mali has closed ranks with neighboring military-led Niger and Burkina Faso and the trio formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) last September.
- From one-way to open partnerships
A senior Mali military official told Anadolu that the administration had “increased and strengthened partnerships” with countries such as Russia and China.
“Mali has diversified its partners,” the official said on the condition of anonymity. “The new partnerships are based on sincerity and honor.”
He emphasized, however, that Bamako was working with European countries like Germany and Spain.
“We are open to any partnership,” he said. “With our former partners, we realized that it was not a win-win partnership. We were in a one-way partnership for 60 years.”
Pointing to terrorism, he said: “We cannot be in a sincere partnership while the other partner is sponsoring terrorist groups.”
Notably, Mali last month cut diplomatic relations with Ukraine after accusing Kyiv of being involved in a recent deadly terror attack in the West African country. Kyiv has denied any wrongdoing.
In recent weeks, Mali has claimed to have neutralized dozens of terrorists.
The official rued that Mali’s international partners had “not supported” it in its fight against terrorism.
“We had wounded soldiers on battlefields and when we asked for air support, they never came,” he said.
On relations under AES, the Mali official said the three Sahel nations have “joint operations on the ground.”
“We support each other through a pooling of efforts and equipment,” he said. “There is great solidarity between us. When there is a need, we intervene in one of the countries and vice versa,” he added.
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, under the AES, have created a joint military force to counter spiraling security challenges posed in their countries by terror groups.
The three nations withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc which had threatened to intervene militarily in Niger following a coup in July 2023.
The three countries, with a combined population of 72 million, are affected by instability caused by militant groups.
In July, the leaders of the three military regimes held their first summit in the Nigerien capital of Niamey, where they announced a confederation of three Sahel states.