France's military intervention in Mali, launched Jan. 11 against jihadist militants in the country's north, is winding down. Most offensive operations have ended, and French forces have begun withdrawing. Throughout the intervention, the French offensive operations went largely unanswered because of the firepower France was able to project and the huge imbalance resulting from the militants' lack of military sophistication. The cost of the operation, which involved some 4,000 troops over three and a half months, reportedly reached 205 million euros ($264 million) by April 25 — a relatively high amount considering the French military's budgetary constraints due to huge spending reductions across Europe and the expense of a long-term presence in Mali.
Operations inside Mali also were not the work of the French alone. France cooperated closely with African forces, the contingent of which eventually grew to 6,000 troops. Chadian forces played the most active role in the offensive phase of the intervention, especially in fighting in the Tigharghar Mountains. Chad has now initiated a progressive withdrawal from Mali, and only half of its contingent remains in the Kidal region, though the Chadian government has said it would redeploy its troops once the intervention becomes a U.N. operation involving 12,000 foreign troops on July 1. Meanwhile, forces from other African states are taking the leading role in Mali as French troops withdraw, and securing Mali's population centers is becoming an African responsibility.
Although the intervention has succeeded in denying jihadists territorial control over northern Mali, it could not contain such forces, which have dispersed throughout the Sahel region. While French operations degraded the militancy, the wider jihadist threat in the region persists due to the lack of capabilities and cooperation among the countries of the Sahel.
