Why the EU should support France in the Sahel by Rem Korteweg
“Now what?,” asked US General Carter Ham after he heard about the French assault in Mali. Europeans are asking the same question. Jihadist rebels in Mali have forced the hand of France and Europe. A regional spillover is becoming more likely. Europe should step in to avoid this scenario, yet engagement in the Sahel is fraught with problems. Why should Europe get involved? Since the jihadist takeover of northern Mali, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated. A virulent brand of sharia is enforced including mutilation and other human rights violations; some 150,000 Malians have fled south and an equal number have migrated to impoverished neighbouring countries. A food crisis is pending. The Western Sahel has not registered high on the list of priorities in European capitals. The primary concern for Europe however, is the presence of a terrorist safe haven in northern Mali – an area the size of the Benelux, Germany and Poland combined. Continuing turmoil, or even a collapse of the regime in Bamako, raises the spectre of violent instability stretching across the Sahel, potentially enabling jihadists in Mali and groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria or even Al-Shabaab in distant Somalia to join forces. The recent terrorist attacks in Algeria have demonstrated the risk of spillover. Borders are porous in the Western Sahel and some of Mali’s neighbours – particularly Mauritania and Niger
– are equally weak, poor and susceptible to Islamist insurgencies. The Western Sahel is a thoroughfare for illegal migration, cocaine-trafficking and other forms of organised crime that harm European interests. Jihadists and criminal networks have coalesced and are able to operate freely across the region. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and others have made a living kidnapping and smuggling goods and people. In addition to the recent kidnappings at the Algerian gas plant, 14 European and Algerian nationals remain in the hands of jihadists. Furthermore, the jihadist takeover of northern Mali cannot be disconnected from the recent Arab revolutions, particularly in Libya. NATO’s reluctance to put boots on the ground in Libya allowed the proliferation of arms when the regime collapsed. Some of these are now in the hands of the jihadist groups and AQIM. A regional approach is therefore necessary. President Hollande has been right to take a lead in the intervention. French nationals in