France–Mali relations in Paris. There are over 120,000 Malians in France. In response to the rise of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in 2012 following the collapse of Azawad as part of Northern Mali conflict, France deployed 4,000 troops and sent many military equipments in part of Operation Serval. France has been very cautious of Mali's situation, as Mali was a former colony of France and has ties with France. In 2017, President Emmanuel Macron had vowed to fight every terrorist in Mali. France–Mali relations France–Mali relations refers to the current and historical relations between France and Mali. France was the former
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War cited the Russian Orthodox Church's call of the operation as a Holy War. Fifty-five Saudi religious scholars signed a statement against the Russian intervention, first addressing the Russians as "Oh Russians, oh extremist people of the Cross", reminding them of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and addressing Orthodox Russia as the heir of the Soviet Communists, accusing them of "supporting the Nusayri regime" and invading "Muslim Syria", accusing the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church of declaring a "Crusade" and telling them they will meet the fate of the Soviet Union and suffer "a shameful defeat in the Levant". The