>>46088
>why do they leave?
I only read a little about it but: Mali is ex-colony, so there is some historical animosity regarding that; there has been rebel or terrorist groups in the country and there still is; Mali says that France did not help as much as it could, instead being more interested in ensuring a continued foothold in the country; current Mali govt is not Wect-approved democracy, actually it is a military govt; the mali military agreed previously to give way to a new govt after a certain period, but when the deadline was drawing closer they changed their minds and argued that legitimate elections could still not be held because parts of the country remain in control of rebels and the country should be stabilized first; france saw this as an opportunity to get a regime change by playing the "democracy vs. dictatorship" card; thus, together with the US they promoted and supported a resolution by a group of african countries called in english "ECOWAS" that imposed a pretty brutal economic and financial embargo on Mali; that soured relations all the more
Later Russia and China opposed such "sanctioning", which are often aimed at them, and blocked a proposal by the "western partners" to have the UNSC support the embargo too
I suppose this might also be a part of the general geostrategic economic pressure on china because I believe ethiopia, also at war, but not under a military govt., and where china has an important part of its african investments, was also pressured by ecowas (besides the us)