President Macron this week announced that France's anti-jihadist military mission in the Sahel region of Africa has ended. The departure of troops from the former colonial power and the end of Operation Barkhane comes at a challenging time for the region which is in the grips of a security crisis fuelled by Islamist extremists. Both Mali and Burkina Faso face jihadist insurgencies and the countries have seen a combined four coups d’état since 2020. Mali's ruling junta, which has been in power since 2020, has brought in Russian operatives it says are military trainers, but western nations describe as mercenaries from the pro-Kremlin Wagner Group. Could Russia become the new big player in West Africa?

Paul Henley is joined by a panel of expert guests.

Jean-Hervé Jezequel - Project Director for the Sahel at the International Crisis Group.

Niagalé Bagayoko - Chair of the African Security Sector Network, a think tank based in Ghana.

Paul Melly - Journalist and Consulting Fellow in the Africa Programme at the Chatham House think tank.

Also featuring:

Yéah Samaké - A Malian politician and the country’s former ambassador to India.

Sergei Markov - A former member of the Russian parliament for Vladimir Putin's United Russia party and former adviser to the Kremlin.

Producers: Ellen Otzen and Paul Schuster.