French military: Last group of soldiers has left Mali

NICE, France (AP) — The French military says the last group of its soldiers has left Mali, nine years after they were deployed in the West African country to oust Islamic extremists from power. A statement from the French armed forces says the last military unit present on Malian territory crossed into neighboring Niger on Monday afternoon. With that, France’s military completed the withdrawal from Mali six months after President Emmanuel Macron announced the army pull out following tensions with the country’s ruling junta that has invited Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to fight Islamic extremists. They have regrouped and now control large swaths of territory in Mali.