|
2020-02-11 Africa North
|
|
French operations in Mali put 30 militants ‘out of action,’ as Barkhane builds Sahel Coalition coordination
|
| Hattip badanov, with thanks. |
[TheDefensePost] Barkhane commando operations and Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM! ...
s targeted Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
and al-Qaeda linked fighters in the tri-border area.
Continued from Page 1
French commando operations and airstrikes against groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda in Mali put 30 Lions of Islam "out of action," the Armed Forces Ministry said.
The operations come as the La Belle France-led Operation Barkhane builds command coordination with local partner forces in sub-Saharan Africa’s Sahel region
... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas...
, setting up dedicated coordination mechanisms for the new Sahel Coalition in Niger’s capital Niamey and Chad’s capital N’Djamena.
OPERATIONS AGAINST ‘TERRORISTS’ IN LIPTAKO-GOURMA
Between February 6 and 7, forces deployed to Operation Barkhane conducted an "operation of opportunity" which "resulted in the neutralization of some 20 Death Eaters and the destruction of several vehicles," the ministry said, in a Friday, February 7 release.
A Reaper drone, a Mirage 2000 fighter jet patrol, a Tigre attack helicopter and a Cougar transport helicopter "took part in two targeted strikes in an area where terrorist fighters had been spotted," it said.
The action was carried out "in the west of the Gourma" region, in an area where the "katiba is rampant," the release said. The ministry did not give further detail, but the likely target was Katiba Macina, one of the constituent groups of JNIM, which has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.
Also this week, Barkhane forces continued operations in the Liptako, where two separate commando actions led to a dozen Death Eaters being "put out of action" in areas where "Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
...the succulent fruit of the union of splinter factions from Mokhtar Bekmokhtar's al-Mourabitunes and MUJAO. Once the dust had settled and the smell of gunsmoke had dissipated, they became the Islamic State in Mali, then adopted their present clever name. They are headed by Adnan Abu Walid Saharaoui. It operates along the borders of Burkina Faso
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other...
, Niger, and Mali...
" is active, the release said, without giving further details.
French military spokesperson Colonel Frederic Barbry said that 10 Lions of Islam were "neutralized" in the actions, AFP reported.
The French Armed Forces groups those killed, injured or taken prisoner under the terms "neutralized" or taken "out of action," according to AFP.
The French operations are the latest against Islamist bad boy groups in the region.
On January 23, the ministry said more than 30 "terrorists" were put out of action in operations in the Liptako-Gourma region. Commando operations targeted Katiba Macina fighters in Mali’s Mopti region, while Islamic State fighters were struck by a drone further east, near the border with Niger.
On January 16, the ministry said more than 1,000 troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Barkhane had taken part in a joint operation in the Liptako-Gourma region since early January and that 15 "terrorists" were put out of action. A week earlier, it said more than 50 "terrorists" were put out of action in a series of operations conducted in Mali between December 20 and January 5.
GROWING FRENCH PRESENCE IN THE SAHEL
The French military presence in the Sahel began in 2013 with Operation Serval in Mali, and evolved in August 2014 into Operation Barkhane, which has a mandate for counter-terrorism operations across the region. The Barkhane force focuses activity in Death Eater-hit Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, working alongside local troops and other international operations, including the regional G5 Sahel Joint Force (FCG5S), which comprises troops from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, and MINUSMA, the U.N. stabiliization mission in Mali.
On February 2, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said that the number of French troops deployed to the Sahel would increase from 4,500 to 5,100. Around 220 of those troops have already deployed to the region, and the remaining 400 soldiers are expected to arrive by the end of February, according to Mali’s Communications Minister Yaya Sangare.
Around 30 heavy armored vehicles, 30 light armored vehicles and 20 logistics vehicles will also be deployed, the French ministry said, bringing the total number of military vehicles that have been sent to the Sahel to around 900, according to Philippe Chapleau.
BARKHANE DEVELOPS SAHEL COALITION COORDINATION MECHANISMS
La Belle France’s President Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of the G5 Sahel states injected new urgency into the counter-terrorism fight on January 13, announcing a new Coalition for the Sahel which will see increased coordination between French and local forces focused on the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border zone and targeting Islamic State as a priority.
The new Sahel Coalition will see Barkhane and FCG5S forces operating under joint command.
"Barkhane is actively working to strengthen coordination" between its chain of command and partner forces operating in the tri-border zone, in particular the FCG5S, the French Armed Forces Ministry said in its weekly update published on February 6.
In coming days, a "dedicated structure" will be set up in Niger’s capital Niamey. The integration of liaison officers will "make it possible to coordinate and synchronise actions in the fields of intelligence, planning and conduct, and to improve response times in the event of an alert," the ministry said.
In early February, Barkhane’s Joint Theater Command Post (PCIAT) in Chad’s capital N’Djamena integrated FCG5S liaison officers from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
But the ministry stressed that the command coordination mechanism "is not a mechanism for merging chains of command."
"While Barkhane is the only force capable of integrating external contributors to the Sahel, especially TF Takuba, the Joint Force is the only one that can ensure the command of units of the local forces," it said.
In a move that looks set to enable joint operations in the tri-border area, Mali is to launch Operation Maliko, a new counter-terrorism operation that will take into account cross-border, regional and international cooperation, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta decreed last week. The PCIAT for Maliko’s East Theater is in Gao, which is also home to the only permanent base in Mali for Operation Barkhane.
G5 Sahel military chiefs of staff last week agreed to allow forces from one country to "support another force in another zone," and to allow the forces from each state to pursue terrorist fighters up to 100 km into neighboring countries. Chad will soon deploy an additional battalion within the FCG5S in the tri-border zone.
LA BELLE FRANCE PREPARES TO WELCOME TAKUBA PARTNERS TO THE SAHEL
The "nature and missions" of the French reinforcements are likely to evolve over the next six months, in order to prepare in particular for the reception of Europe
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
an partners involved in the new international special operations Task Force Takuba, the French Armed Forces Ministry said in its weekly update published on February 6.
La Belle France has for months been trying to build support for Task Force Takuba, an international operation that will train, advise, assist and accompany local forces in their fight against Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates in the region.
The new French deployment will include around 50 special forces personnel who will form the nucleus of Takuba, Le Monde reported.
Takuba will declare initial military capability in the summer and will be fully operational by the autumn, Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces General Francois Lecointre said on January 22.
La Belle France hopes that Takuba will comprise around 500 special forces personnel, according to Le Monde.
About a dozen European states have expressed interest in taking part, but concrete commitments to the new mission have been slow to materialize.
Estonia was the first French partner to confirm a deployment to Takuba. In November, a defense ministry spokesperson told The Defense Post that special forces will deploy to Mali in the second half of 2020. Belgium will send three staff officers to the mission, Belga reported in November, and the Czech Republic is planning to send 60 troops to join Takuba, the government said in late January.
On Wednesday, the Swedish Armed Forces said planning has begun for a possible deployment including helicopters, but both government and parliament must approve the plans.
Barkhane already has an international dimension, with European partners contributing troops and equipment. Estonia is to almost double the size of its force protection contingent this year, Denmark has deployed two Merlin helicopters, and three Chinook helicopters from the United Kingdom currently support the operation.
ISLAMIST BULLY BOYZ IN THE SAHEL
The complex insurgency in the Sahel began in Mali in 2012, when a Tuareg separatist uprising was exploited by al-Qaeda-linked snuffies who took key cities in the desert north. Former colonial power La Belle France began its Operation Serval military intervention the following year, driving the jihadists from the towns.
But the bad boy groups morphed into more nimble formations operating in rural areas, and the insurgency gradually spread to central and southern regions of Mali and then into Burkina Faso and Niger.
More than 4,000 people were reported killed in bad boy attacks in the three countries last year, according to the U.N., and Secretary-General António Guterres
 ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...
has warned that the spiraling violence in the Sahel has spread to coastal states of West Africa.
Many gangs including Islamic State are active in the Sahel region, but the majority of attacks are attributed to JNIM, which formed in March 2017 from a merger of several smaller groups. JNIM’s leadership has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...
Since May 2019, ISIS has attributed Death Eater activities in the Sahel area to ISWAP, its West Africa Province affiliate that split from Boko Haram
 ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
in 2016, rather than to Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. ISWAP’s main area of operations is the Lake Chad area of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
Macron has said the Sahel Coalition would prioritize the fight against ISIS in the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border area because it is the most dangerous. 
|
Posted by trailing wife 2020-02-11 02:36||
||
Front Page|| [11133 views ]
Top
|
|
08:38 Gleng Whaick2262
08:35 Gleng Whaick2262
08:35 Gleng Whaick2262
08:33 Gleng Whaick2262
08:32 Gleng Whaick2262
08:31 Gleng Whaick2262
08:28 Gleng Whaick2262
08:24 Matt
08:20 SteveS
07:43 Procopius2k
07:42 BrerRabbit
07:42 Procopius2k
07:39 Procopius2k
07:36 Procopius2k
07:35 Procopius2k
07:34 trailing wife
07:31 Procopius2k
07:30 NN2N1
07:22 NN2N1
07:18 trailing wife
07:14 Richard Aubrey
07:10 NN2N1
07:09 Besoeker
07:03 NN2N1
|
