Mali
In Mali, French troops handed control of an army base on Tuesday to Malian officers near the city of Timbuktu.
The handover follows President Macron's June announcement of a major withdrawal of French troops from the region.
France's deployment in the Sahel is due to fall to about 3,000 troops by next year.
For many Malians the withdrawal of France represents a disappointment.
"In eight years in Mali, the French army has done nothing. It has to be said. I would say a decade of loss for the Malian nation. A decade completely lost like that. It's a catastrophic record, otherwise. When the French army came, you saw the enthusiasm and the welcome of the Malians all over Bamako, in Timbuktu, everywhere. In the same way, if the French army decides to leave or to reorganize, or at least to leave at point A or point B, the population should still come out to congratulate it, but did you see that? No, we are disappointed", admits local businessman Kibili Demba Dembele.
Alex Doumbia, a resident of Bamako resident added "when France says that it is organizing the base to go to the other side, I see that these are things to be able to reconquer the Malian power. This is false. (Junta leader) Assimi (Goita) is not going to let this happen and the Malian people are not going to let it happen either".
According to the UN, militant attacks on civilians in Timbuktu and the surrounding area are at their lowest since 2015.
01:06
Ivory Coast deports 164 Burkinabe refugees amid concerns
Go to video
Can Diomaye Faye bring Burkina, Mali and Niger back into ECOWAS?
Go to video
ECOWAS mandates Faye to discuss with Burkina, Mali and Niger
02:11
Coup-hit nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso form Sahel Alliance
01:06
US says troops to leave Niger bases this weekend and in August after coup
01:53
Mali civil society lauds war crimes conviction of Islamist police chief