France to continue aerial support to Mali after troop withdrawal

FILE PHOTO: A French soldier leaves with his backpack at the Operational Desert Platform Camp (PfOD) during the Operation Barkhane in Gao, Mali, August 1, 2019. Picture taken August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - France will still provide aerial military support to Malian troops battling an Islamist insurgency in the Sahel even after its counter-terrorism mission has withdrawn, but only where Russian fighters are not present, the force's commander said on Friday.

Mali's former colonial power announced last month that it would pull out 2,400 troops first deployed to Mali almost a decade ago, after relations with the country's ruling military junta turned sour earlier this year.