Nine years after France's first intervention in the West African country to drive Islamic extremists out of power, French troops will be officially leaving Mali.

"The Malian army has been strengthened, re-organized, the problem now is to know whether it gets its orders from the junta and if it's laying off on the fight against terrorism," French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a press conference following President Emmanuel Macron official announcement the day before.

"It's a Malian problem, it is no longer a French problem," Le Drian concluded.

Mali's army-led government has expressed its disagreement with the decision, asking the French troops to leave "without delay."

"These unilateral decisions constitute flagrant violations of the legal framework linking France and Mali," said Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, spokesperson for the Government of Mali, on Friday.

"In view of these repeated breaches of the defense agreements, the government invites the French authorities to withdraw the Barkane and Takuba forces from the national territory without delay under the supervision of the Malian authorities."

Macron responded by saying that the troops will leave "in orderly fashion" with a withdrawal that won't compromise the security of the UN stabilization mission in Mali, MINUSMA, and other foreign forces in the country. It is expected to be completed within four to six months.

French troops will be relocated to Niger, where the terrorist threat is assessed to be more urgent. But there's widespread disenchantment around the role Paris can still play in the region.

Need a reminder of how we got to this point? Read our explainer here.

How are Malians reacting?

Malians seem to be split between resentment, gratitude, and even optimism over the announced withdrawal of the French troops from their home.

"It is our soldiers who are dying every day, and it is our people who are forced to leave their land," a resident of Bamako, Mali's capital, told Reuters. "Every day, it is pain that we suffer, so if France leaves today, we will work with other countries to secure our territory."

"Let France leave Mali so we can have peace. As long as France remains in Mali, militarily, we will never have peace," said another.

Many Malians in Paris welcomed Macron's decision.

"I'm very happy because they (French troops) came to find a solution, but if there is no solution, then they leave, that's what's good," said Moustapha Drame, a Malian living in Paris.

"f you come to help someone, then you have to help them. But if you can't help them - there are a lot of dead bodies, they kill all the time, they kill people, they burn their villages - if there is no solution, then they leave, that's what's important. So I'm quite happy, I'm very happy."

_{Cover image: AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File}