The objective of the Armed Forces Rapid Intervention Force created by the Malian Armed Forces is "to respond effectively," Ibrahim Namaiwa, a Nigerian political scientist, told Sputnik Africa.
"In the fight against terrorism and transnational banditry, we were confronted with a number of realities for which we were often not sufficiently prepared," he said.
This is because the terrorists "operated in other theaters of war" and "got used to this kind of tactical fighting," he explained. When confronting them, the regular army sometimes struggles to find "adequate responses."
Goita's decision to create an Army Rapid Intervention Force (FIRA) "will produce satisfactory results on the ground," he affirmed.
The member countries of the Alliance of Sahel States have a "real will to put an end to terrorism." Their efforts are bearing fruit, unlike those of the G5 Sahel or the Western contingents, the expert noted.
The latter suffered a "clear failure", which "contributed to the intensification of the phenomenon of terrorism," the political scientist pointed out. As for the Western forces, the fight against terrorism was not their objective, Namaiwa argued.
"They were engaged in other activities, manoeuvres, plundering, exploiting the resources of the Sahel countries," he explained.
In January, Burkina Faso's Interim President, Ibrahim Traore, ordered to set up the Special Rapid Intervention Brigade, a large inter-army operational unit, to fight terrorism, according to local media reports.