Since yesterday, the Senegalese head of state has begun a journey that takes him from Bamako to Libreville via N’Djamena. If the Gabonese stop is a friendly visit, Macky Sall’s visits to Mali and Chad are about the state of the military transitions and the return to constitutional legality. In Bamako, the Senegalese President also offered himself as a mediator in the crisis between Mali and Côte d’Ivoire.

The issue of the 49 Ivorian soldiers arrested in Mali was raised in the exchanges between the Malian and Senegalese leaders. President Sall asked Goïta, in the name of Africa and good neighborly relations, to do everything possible to find a solution to this crisis. He also pledged to make the same approach to President Ouattara so that a solution to this disagreement can be found quickly so that the region can focus on the fight against terrorism, which is the most important issue. Colonel Goïta welcomed the initiative of the Senegalese Head of State, and said he was open to any equitable solution. The indictment of the 49 soldiers for attempted coup d’état does not mean that a satisfactory solution cannot be found, and it is therefore not impossible that a happy ending will be found in the days to come. On this point, as on the others, Colonel Assimi Goïta was pleased that the AU president favored an African solution because, the Malian leader assures us, the continent must not be a prisoner of world geopolitics.

Thus, on the question of transition, the head of the junta was also pragmatic and showed his good will. This allowed the current AU president to understand that the transition is on track despite the recent terrorist attacks, the latest of which, was unprecedented and targeted a military camp located less than 500 km from the Senegalese border. President Sall felt that the situation requires the rest of Africa to be at Mali’s side and help it to make a success of its transition and to fight terrorism.

At the end of the meeting, Colonel Assimi Goïta thanked Mr. Macky Sall, whom he said has been the best advocate for Mali since the beginning of the crisis. He recalled that Senegal had from the outset, opposed the draconian sanctions that ECOWAS wanted to impose on Mali in August 2020, after the coup against former President IBK. The country of Teranga has paid a high economic price for not wanting to go against the decisions of ECOWAS. This means that Senegal’s solidarity with Mali is not just a figure of speech.

This visit to Mali, as well as the mediation that has just begun with the transitional authorities before the mediation that the African Union president will begin today in N’Djamena, has led some people in the Malian capital to describe Macky Sall as an « African Fireman ». Some Malian newspapers recalled his visit to Juba, South Sudan, a month ago, where he tried to reconcile the enemy brothers Salva Kiir and Riek Machar. After yesterday’s discussions in Bamako, the African Fireman will be in N’Djamena today, where he will try to help the Chadians smooth out the rough edges of their national dialogue and transition.

By Mohamed Gueye / mgueye@lequotidien.sn