After carrying out operations Maliko and Kélètigui over the past three months the military regime led by Colonel Assimi Goïta – who took power in an August 2020 coup – claimed successes against the jihadists particularly in the central regions...

Given Maïga's worldview he may share this analysis but he and transition president Col Assimi Goïta have so far refrained from direct comment...

It is a difficult sell domestically where public opinion – as right across the Sahel – has been enthused by Mali's junta leader Col Assimi Goïta and the populist-nationalist rhetoric of his premier Choguel Maïga in defying France...

The two military leaders in G5 Sahel Mali's Colonel Assimi Goïta and Burkina Faso's Lieutenant Col Paul-Henri Damiba were not scheduled to attend the Paris meeting...

The gap between Bamako's announced four-year transition and the West African bloc's demand for an 18-month time limit may no longer look quite so unbridgeable but most regional partners remain deeply sceptical of the real intentions of Mali's military ruler Assimi Goïta who came to power in an August 2020 coup (AC Dispatches 12/01/22 Bamako junta gets more isolated as West African leaders cut off financial ties)...

Yet it is the refusal by Colonel Assimi Goïta's regime to accept the deployment of 100 Danish troops in Operation Takuba that may prove more consequential for international strategy in the Sahel...

On the ground Malian soldiers cooperate smoothly with French forces of which Colonel Assimi Goïta would be well aware...

Mali's military leader Colonel Assimi Goïta brought in Wagner towards the end of last year meeting condemnation from several Western powers including France Britain and the United States...

Last year the junta under Colonel Assimi Goïta reconfirmed its control of the political scene by organising a second coup (AC Vol 62 No 11 Don't call it a coup)...

European Union sanctions on those who impede the transition back to democracy following those imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) deepens confrontation with Bamako – where Colonel Assimi Goïta's regime has confirmed its refusal to hold elections next February...

Mali's military junta led by Colonel Assimi Goïta has shown increasing defiance to France and international and regional organisations both over relations with Russia and a transition to civilian rule since it took power in August last year (AC Vol 61 No 17 The junta haggles on transition)...