• Canada will be joining the withdrawal of a French-led military contingent from Mali after supporting the operation against Islamist militants for nearly a decade, the military allies have announced. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • Due to multiple obstructions by the Malian transitional authorities, Canada and the European states operating alongside Operation Barkhane and within the Task Force Takuba deem that the political, operational and legal conditions are no longer met to effectively continue their current military engagement in the fight against terrorism in Mali," a joint announcement said on Thursday in a statement under French presidential letterhead. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • French President Emmanuel Macron said the 2,400 French troops in Mali will be removed or relocated to neighbouring Niger over the next four to six months, and the three French bases in Mali will be closed. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • France has about 4,600 troops in the Sahel region, fighting Islamist militias that have gained control of large chunks of territory across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • The UN mission in Mali, with about 14,000 troops, has suffered more casualties than any other UN peacekeeping mission in the world. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • Both operations share bases in Mali, so basic UN troop and base protection will likely suffer from the French retreat. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • Canada's armed forces have been supporting the French-led military campaign in Mali for many years by deploying military aircraft to move French military equipment and troops between France and West Africa. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • France is rejecting a U.N. report that said a French air strike in central Mali in January killed 19 civilians as part of anti-terrorist operations in the Sahel. (voanews.com)
  • FILE - A light armored vehicle (LAV) of the French force of the counter-terrorism Barkhane mission in Africa's Sahel region Barkhane is parked at the roadside crossing of the town of Gossi, center Mali, March 25, 2019. (voanews.com)
  • The accusations come as public distrust in France is growing over the presence of 5,000 of its troops in the French-led anti-insurgent force known as Operation Barkhane in Mali. (voanews.com)
  • With the end of both Operation Barkhane and the reduction of the UN mission, MINUSMA, Northern Mali, is at risk of yet another escalation of violence. (ict.org.il)
  • Five of Paris's troops were killed in the first five days of this new year - bringing to 50 the number of French fatalities in Mali since their 2013 intervention. (antiwar.com)
  • And in August, following back-to-back coups in Mali, that country's ruling junta grew resentful of the 2,400 French troops stationed there and forced them to withdraw into neighboring Niger, which became the new main base for their operations in the Sahel region. (juancole.com)
  • Thirteen soldiers from France's anti-terrorist Barkhane force in Mali were killed after two helicopters collided during an operation in the country's north, the French presidency said Tuesday, November 26. (thedefensepost.com)
  • France has around 5,000 troops taking part in Operation Barkhane , a multi-national task force that is battling Islamist insurgents in Mali and Niger. (dw.com)
  • French Foreign Legion troops hunt fighters of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara in northeastern Mali last year. (usip.org)
  • Parly noted that Chad "should soon be deploying an additional battalion" in the tri-border zone within the regional G5 Sahel Joint Force (FCG5S ), which also includes troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania. (thedefensepost.com)
  • 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. (thedefensepost.com)
  • Roughly 4,700 French troops are currently deployed, and they focus activity in insurgent-hit Mali , Niger and Burkina Faso , working alongside local troops and other international operations, including the FCG5S and the United Nations stabilization mission in Mali, MINUSMA . (thedefensepost.com)
  • President Emmanuel Macron of France will head to Mali next week to visit the French military stationed there as part of France's Operation Barkhane, which currently involves 3,500 troops across Chad, Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. (okayafrica.com)
  • Operation Serval was a French military operation that took place in Mali from January 2013 to July 2014. (okayafrica.com)
  • French troops have been present in Mali since 2013, when they intervened to force out armed fighters from power in the country's north. (aljazeera.com)
  • Facing a fight with seemingly no end in sight, French President Emmanuel Macron announced in July plans to reduce the 5,100 French troops under its Barkhane mission by about half and close down French bases in northern Mali in a bid to initiate a wider European effort. (aljazeera.com)
  • FILE - French Barkhane force soldiers who wrapped up a four-month tour of duty in the Sahel leave their base in Gao, Mali, June 9, 2021. (apnews.com)
  • France said Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022 that one of its soldiers has been killed in an attack on a base in Mali.A French Army statement said the 24-year-old artilleryman, Alexandre Martin, was serving with France's anti-insurgent force Operation Barkhane. (apnews.com)
  • We revealed that French soldiers of operation Barkhane killed at least 25 civilians in Mali while the official toll stands at 7. (emmanuel-freudenthal.com)
  • An apparent suicide car bomb exploded at the entrance to a French military base in the central Mali town of Gao, injuring at least three French and Estonian troops on Monday, July 22. (port.ac.uk)
  • The France-led Operation Barkhane , which has a mandate for counter-terrorism operations across the Sahel, has roughly 4,500 French troops deployed in the region, including 2,700 soldiers in Mali. (port.ac.uk)
  • The large camp in Gao is shared between Barkhane forces, the United Nations peacekeeping mission MINUSMA, and the Armed Forces of Mali (FAMa). (port.ac.uk)
  • France and the other allies withdraw their troops from Mali. (thetaiwantimes.com)
  • 2,400 of the troops were also in three bases in northern Mali. (thetaiwantimes.com)
  • In 2014, France launched Operation Barkhane to combat jihadist forces across five countries of the Sahel region: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. (civicus.org)
  • Geographically, the main operational area of our troops would be Mali. (czdefence.com)
  • The withdrawal of Operation Barkhane troops from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, has left a significant void in the region's security. (globalvoices.org)
  • For a while, the deployment of French troops significantly reduced terrorist attacks in the Sahel and Mali in particular. (globalvoices.org)
  • As relations between Mali and France, and the European Union by extension, continue to degrade - culminating on 2 May 2022 with the Malian junta's revocation of the defence agreements that authorised the presence of French and European troops in the country -, Niger appears from now on to be Europe's new key strategic partner in the region. (defence-institute.be)
  • Indeed, Niger's Parliament has recently approved to host more European troops following the suspension of French-led operations Barkhane and Takuba in neighbouring Mali. (defence-institute.be)
  • Paris totally withdrew its forces from Mali last summer against the backdrop of the persistent terrorism in the the Sahel region, which French operations were supposedly trying to put an end to.Burkina Faso has reportedly denounced a military assistance agreement with France, signed in 1961. (worldofnews.net)
  • Under Operation Barkhane in the Sahel region launched by France in 2014, Paris had its military presence in Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Mauritania, and Niger. (worldofnews.net)
  • There are also Mali and Niger, the countries that have also seen public protests against the French troops on their soil.In summer last year, neighboring Mali got rid of the French military presence. (worldofnews.net)
  • The rise of jihadist groups, some linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, continues to destabilize Mali, four years after French troops beat back an Islamist insurgency that began in 2012. (courtroommail.com)
  • Around 4,000 French soldiers remain as part of Operation Barkhane, where they work alongside around 10,000 UN peacekeepers in Mali. (courtroommail.com)
  • Four U.S. Special Forces troops were killed earlier in October in neighbouring Niger by fighters believed to belong to a local Islamic State affiliate operating out of Mali. (courtroommail.com)
  • The Group of Five, an anti-terrorism taskforce of soldiers from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania, plans to launch its first joint operations this month to target Islamists in the Sahel. (courtroommail.com)
  • The subsequent deployment of the UN peace operation in Mali, MINUSMA, and the French operation, Barkhane, and the continuing efforts to build capacity of national security forces across the region have blunted the threat. (africacenter.org)
  • Macron's speech marks the formal end of the so-called Barkhane force after France withdrew its troops from Mali earlier this year following tensions with the ruling military regime. (eurotrib.com)
  • The leader of Mali, Assimi Goïta, is said to be on the verge of signing an agreement with the Russian security group Wagner, France which also has its troops in the Sahel, has expressed firm opposition to this project. (afrikpage.com)
  • France, which has already announced the end of Operation Barkhane and the withdrawal of part of its troops from Mali, threatens to further reduce its participation in the fight against armed jihadist groups in the Sahel. (afrikpage.com)
  • Around 4,000 French troops are deployed in Mali and neighboring countries to fight extremist groups that have staged a string of attacks and kidnappings, some targeting Western nationals. (cameroonconcordnews.com)
  • The deaths bring to 12 the number of French troops killed since the start of Operation Barkhane, which was launched more than three years ago to try to vanquish extremist groups that overran northern Mali in 2012. (cameroonconcordnews.com)
  • France is to boost the number of troops deployed to its Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism mission in Africa's Sahel region to 5,100, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Sunday, February 2. (thedefensepost.com)
  • His country's long-running intervention in Africa's Sahel region, Operation Barkhane, would be coming to an end. (19fortyfive.com)
  • France began its Operation Serval military intervention in its former colony early the next year, driving the jihadists from the towns, and the MINUSMA peacekeeping force was then established. (thedefensepost.com)
  • Its aim was to prevent Islamist militants in the Northern region from overtaking the country's strategically located military airport.Operation Serval was replaced by the current Operation Barkhane. (okayafrica.com)
  • Operation Serval was later replaced by Barkhane and was expanded to include other countries in an effort to help stabilize Africa's broader Sahel region. (apnews.com)
  • In January 2013, French troops were officially deployed in the Sahel, under Operation Serval , to help the Malian army contain the advance of rebel, terrorist and Salafi groups demanding independence for the northern Malian region of Azawad . (globalvoices.org)
  • The incident occurred while the helicopters were reinforcing ground troops pursuing insurgents in the Liptako region, near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, the armed forces ministry said. (thedefensepost.com)
  • That operation was later extended to other countries in an effort to stabilise the broader Sahel region that includes Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. (aljazeera.com)
  • France had one month to withdraw its troops from the West African country and did so on 20 February.This happened after relations dramatically deteriorated between Paris and Ouagadougou, including the request of Burkina Faso that France recall its ambassador.However, as Burkina Faso is not the only country where the former colonial power maintained a military presence, which disappointed locals. (worldofnews.net)
  • French operations to help fighting Islamic extremists in the Sahel region are focusing on Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso, where the country has about 3,000 troops. (eurotrib.com)
  • Sahel region of Africa (2018-2022) Operation Barkhane (2018-2022), anti-insurgent operation led by France against Islamic extremism, Estonia has provided ~90 soldiers of mechanized and Special forces units. (wikipedia.org)
  • This article reviews Operation Barkhane, the French operation to stabilize the Sahel region of Africa. (ict.org.il)
  • Canada does not have its own troops in the counter-insurgency campaign, known today as Operation Barkhane and Task Force Takuba, but has been supporting it with military transport aircraft since 2013. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • She also acknowledged last week's announcement that the Czech Republic intends to send 60 troops to join the new France-led special operations Task Force Takuba in the Sahel. (thedefensepost.com)
  • The Czech Republic is only the second country to publicly say it intends to to join the new task force, after Estonia said in November that it would deploy troops to Takuba . (thedefensepost.com)
  • The main aim of the expansion of Operation Barkhane is to create a task group of European countries called Takuba, which will replace the French forces in the region and will continue to assist and advise partner Malian troops and accompany them in combat operations. (czdefence.com)
  • Operation Takuba, a multinational European Special Forces effort to relieve pressure on the French military, which has lost over 50 men in combat operations in the region since 2013. (aberfoylesecurity.com)
  • In the last few weeks, there's already been an increase in the number of attacks on MINUSMA and Malian troops. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • In the latest Malian episode in a recurring strongman series, the lead putschist had participated in US Africa Command training exercises in West Africa known as Operation Flintlock - AFRICOM's 'premier and largest annual exercise' - and once attended a Joint Special Operations (JSOC) University seminar at Florida's MacDill Air Force Base. (antiwar.com)
  • Malian officials, meanwhile, have accused France of abandoning their country with its "unilateral" decision to withdraw troops. (aljazeera.com)
  • Update July 23 Five Estonian soldiers were injured in the attack but their injuries are not serious, the Estonian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday, adding that French and Malian troops had also been hurt. (port.ac.uk)
  • Paris totally withdrew its troops from the country after Bamako terminated bilateral Malian-French agreements in 2022, as the European country was accused of supporting the terrorism it had actually come to fight.French president Emmanuel Macron recently said his government was planning to reorganize the presence of French troops on the continent with the help of a new security partnership. (worldofnews.net)
  • Then, last month, French President Emmanuel Macron was forced to announce that he was pulling his troops and his ambassador out of Niger as well. (juancole.com)
  • Deployment of armed drones in Niger coincides with a new U.S. plan to withdraw some troops. (foreignpolicy.com)
  • A French soldier involved in the regional anti-insurgent Operation Barkhane stands guard next to a Reaper drone at the French military air base in Niamey, Niger, on March 14, 2016. (foreignpolicy.com)
  • But last November, following an attack that killed five Nigerien and four American troops near the village of Tongo Tongo, the government of Niger requested that the United States begin deploying armed drones against jihadi groups. (foreignpolicy.com)
  • The Pentagon insists that U.S. troops do not have a direct combat mission in Niger. (foreignpolicy.com)
  • Operation in the territory of Niger will only take place in connection with logistical transports and cross-border operations in the event of possible persecution of terrorist groups. (czdefence.com)
  • N'Djamena is also one of the two air bases - along with Niamey, in Niger - from which Barkhane planes take off. (worldcrunch.com)
  • MINUSMA will adapt if it loses troops, but it might be harder if it loses French support," he told The Globe and Mail. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • Initially launched in 2014 to combat Islamist terrorism and stabilize regional governments, the operation failed to accomplish either objective: last year saw the largest number of casualties from conflict since the operation began, while the nations the operation was meant to shore up remain wracked by corruption and repression. (19fortyfive.com)
  • The French military is also heavily involved there, deploying thousands of troops across West Africa to fight Islamist militants. (foreignpolicy.com)
  • The troops have to fight the Islamist militants. (thetaiwantimes.com)
  • French troops have been forced to abandon what Paris calls its Barkhane operation to fight against jihadists in the Sahel, which has been going on for a decade. (nakedcapitalism.com)
  • But, eight years after the spectacular reconquest of Timbuktu against jihadists in the Sahara, the French military operation is running out of steam, undermined by an unstable political situation in Ouagadougou, Bamako and Niamey. (gisreportsonline.com)
  • The units are under the allegiance of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Kosovo (2003-present) Estonian Kosovo Contingent (Alternatively 'Kosovo Contingent')(2003-present), joint military force of the Estonian Defence Forces deployed in Kosovo during Operation Joint Interprise (Commonly "Kosovo Force") Bosnia and Herzegovina (2005-2007) ESTGUARD 1-3 (2005-2007), Estonian soldiers were stationed near Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina at Camp Eagle. (wikipedia.org)
  • The president hails with the greatest respect the memory of these soldiers … who lost their lives in an operation and died for France in the hard fight against terrorism in the Sahel," it added in a statement. (thedefensepost.com)
  • President Emmanuel Macron and the Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces General François Lecointre "took the decision to increase the number of troops deployed in the Sahel-Saharan strip to about 5,100, an increase of 600 soldiers," Parly said in a statement . (thedefensepost.com)
  • Update February 3 The Armed Forces Ministry on Monday said that nearly 400 more soldiers would gradually deploy in coming weeks, in addition to the 220 troops from the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (REP) that have already reinforced Barkhane. (thedefensepost.com)
  • France has previously announced plans to reduce the force from 5,000 troops to 2,500-3,000 soldiers over the long term. (apnews.com)
  • A detachment of 50 Estonian soldiers are deployed to Operation Barkhane in Gao in a force-protection capacity. (port.ac.uk)
  • The whole operation will be carried out on the basis of the official consent of the states concerned, guaranteeing the legal status of the soldiers sent there, and after approval by both chambers of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. (czdefence.com)
  • The Islamic State - West Africa Province (ISWAP) claims to have killed four Canadian soldiers and "dozens" of Chadian troops on November 24 when an IED exploded under their boat on Lake Chad. (aberfoylesecurity.com)
  • Macron sent condolences to the soldiers' families and said the regional counter-terrorism operation had dealt "severe blows" to the enemy, the presidency added. (cameroonconcordnews.com)
  • It is reducing its military presence after the decade-long Operation Barkhane, which was aimed at fighting jihadi insurgency in the Sahel but led to increased anti-French sentiment in the region. (monocle.com)
  • A related problem is that a military operation like Barkhane treats only the symptoms of insurgency, not its underlying causes. (19fortyfive.com)
  • As the legacy colonial power, it's long been a major player in the region, and since 2014 has spent over $1 billion to quash the Sahel insurgency with French troops in Operation Barkhane. (gzeromedia.com)
  • Instead, they will evolve into academies, with French troops refocusing on training (alongside African forces) and intelligence. (monocle.com)
  • The Russian Federation intervention in Ukraine, which has gained significant support among the masses within the AU member-states, is taking place alongside the proliferation of Pentagon and EU troops on the African continent. (popularresistance.org)
  • However, the presence of the group has been documented in Libya alongside the forces of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, in Syria with the troops of Bashar al-Assad and as "instructors" in the Central African Republic and elsewhere. (afrikpage.com)
  • With these accusations, Trinquand says the support for the Barkhane force is at stake as France is presented as violating human rights. (voanews.com)
  • In particular, they intended to further internationalise military and political responses to the Sahel's crises, draw greater attention to the region, and help France especially share the burden of military operations and political and development efforts there. (ecfr.eu)
  • As terrorists affiliated with ISIS first became active in 2014, France deployed some 5,000 elite troops for Operation Barkhane in collaboration with six nations of Africa's arid Sahel region, the strip of territory extending across the continent, largely south of the Sahara Desert. (juancole.com)
  • France is part of military operations targeting jihadist insurgents in the region and frequently flies over Algerian airspace to support ground forces. (dw.com)
  • In June France announced it would be wrapping up its military operations in early 2022. (dw.com)
  • Operation Unicorn formally ended in 2015, but France still maintains a military base in the country. (okayafrica.com)
  • The relations between the two countries have significantly deteriorated following two military coups since August 2020, as well as after France decided to redesign its military operations in the region. (aljazeera.com)
  • Rather than providing increased stability or the expansion of American influence, if the US significantly increases its involvement in African conflicts-whether by increasing its own troop presence or amping up security aid to partner nations-it is likely to encounter the same challenges which led France to throw in the towel. (19fortyfive.com)
  • France, he said in his announcement ending the operation, "cannot go on stabilizing zones that fall back into lawlessness because states decide not to take responsibility for them. (19fortyfive.com)
  • France launched this operation in August 2014 and last year invited European countries to join. (czdefence.com)
  • In addition to operating a significant military drone station there, France has approximately 1,500 troops and a military installation there. (lagoslocalnews.com)
  • And as soon as France launched the regional anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane in 2014, Chad hosted its main command post. (worldcrunch.com)
  • In line with the initial supposed goal of the operation, France came to fight terrorism in the region. (worldofnews.net)
  • France's Minister for the Armed Forces Florence Parly with Général de division (Major General) Frédéric Blachon, commander of Operation Barkhane in N'Djamena, Chad, October 8, 2018. (thedefensepost.com)
  • French troops were stationed in Chad from 1986 to 2014 as part of Operation Épervier , which began as an agreement between the two countries to help counter the Libyan invasion in Chad. (okayafrica.com)
  • The headquarters of Operation Barkhane are located in Chad, where we will appoint a few people. (czdefence.com)
  • ISWAP intensified their operations in the region around the Chadian village of Ngouboua later in April, with an attack on the shores of Lake Chad between the villages of Litri and Ngouboua on the 17th. (aberfoylesecurity.com)
  • Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said Monday's operation was particularly risky because it took place in "total darkness" on a moonless night, but the exact cause of the collision remains unknown. (thedefensepost.com)
  • The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the French-coordinated Operation Barkhane have established permanent and temporary makeshift bases on AU soil. (popularresistance.org)
  • The French military presence in the Sahel will eventually be reduced to about 2,500 to 3,000 troops, French officials said. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • And as 1,500 French troops and that country's ambassador were being withdrawn , Niger's new military leaders promptly contacted Wagner for support, expanding Russia's sphere of influence in the French imperium it was fast supplanting. (juancole.com)
  • There are around 1,500 French troops stationed in the country. (okayafrica.com)
  • Yet just last December, French troops left the Central African Republic after Paris decided that the local government there was "complicit in an anti-French campaign allegedly steered by Russia. (juancole.com)
  • It also deployed about 250 Canadian troops to the country from 2018 to 2019 to support Canadian helicopters in the UN mission. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • A French Tigre helicopter deployed to Operation Barkhane in the Sahel, February 8, 2019. (thedefensepost.com)
  • Wisent (2021-2022), a Polish-Estonian joint operation. (wikipedia.org)
  • Wisent 3 (February 2022), The joint operation had continued with 60 troops which built barriers on the border, and built around 40 km (~25 mi) of border protection due to de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine. (wikipedia.org)
  • Wisent 4 (April 2022), The Estonian and Polish troops concluded deployment with ceremony for Katyn victims. (wikipedia.org)
  • Wisent 5 (April 2022), The joint-operative troops made 4 bridges, and the Polish guard started to patrol the border, and the group have improved road infrastructure along around 10 km (~6 mi) of the road. (wikipedia.org)
  • As the NATO alliance moved ever closer to Russia's sensitive western border in the 1990s, Moscow reacted early in this century (prior to the invasion of 2022) with repeated interventions in Ukraine, launched special operations to secure its allies in Central Asia, and, above all, engaged in a little understood geopolitical flanking maneuver across two continents. (juancole.com)
  • The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Gunnery Sergeant John L. Canley (MCSN: 1455946), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as Company Gunnery Sergeant of Company A, First Battalion, First Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, during operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam from 31 January to 6 February 1968. (blogspot.com)
  • The 24-year-old artilleryman, Alexandre Martin, was serving with France's anti-insurgent force Operation Barkhane, according to a statement from the French army. (apnews.com)
  • Three U.K. Royal Air Force Chinook heavy lift helicopters are based in Gao , and have supported Operation Barkhane since becoming operational last August. (port.ac.uk)
  • The Commander of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, Niger's Brigadier General Oumarou Namata, meets French troops deployed to Operation Barkhane. (lagoslocalnews.com)
  • Since Estonia joined NATO in 2004, Estonia has participated in many joint military operations using its Estonian Defence Forces. (wikipedia.org)
  • There is ~2000 troops from different NATO countries in Tapa, Estonia. (wikipedia.org)
  • In less than a year, in fact, the sudden withdrawal of French troops from individual African nations has turned into a full-blown retreat from much of the region. (juancole.com)
  • Civilian governments in these countries have been overthrown and replaced by military governments, whose first order of business was to terminate French colonial-era military agreements and demand the withdrawal of French troops from their territories. (globalvoices.org)
  • As Africa News notes, the event took place against a background of growing instability in the Sahel, despite years of French Operation Barkhane, and in general popular discontent in Francophone Africa, with protests and demonstrations. (unitedworldint.com)
  • Afghanistan (2015-2021) Resolute Support Mission (2015-2021), 45 troops from the Estonian Defense Forces were sent to Afghanistan and were withdrawn in 2021. (wikipedia.org)
  • The federal government says it suspended its direct financial support and military aid to Mali's government after a coup in August, 2020, but continued to support the French-led military operation and the UN mission. (theglobeandmail.com)
  • Operation Unicorn was the French army's peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire following the outbreak of the First Ivorian Civil War in 2002. (okayafrica.com)
  • The operation was launched in conjunction with the UN's peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire, which was put in place in 2004. (okayafrica.com)
  • French troops have been heavily involved in the UN's largest peacekeeping mission in the DRC, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). (okayafrica.com)
  • More seriously, France's 5,000-strong military mission to combat Islamic jihad across five francophone ex-colonies in the Sahel since 2014, Operation Barkhane, effectively conceded defeat and began an ignominious withdrawal late last year, harangued by virulently anti-French crowds. (ocnus.net)
  • After significant disagreements in 2016 over European Union (EU) payments to troops in the African Union (AU) mission in Somalia, there is now considerable political will on both sides to strengthen cooperation. (genocidewatch.com)
  • Wisent 1 (December 2021), Estonian military unit, with around 70 troops, arrived in Poland, the unit and the 18th Infantry Division of Poland helped clean up and block/defend the border area due to the Belarusian border crisis. (wikipedia.org)
  • ISWAP issued a statement on November 20 describing the remote detonation of an IED against a troop-carrying boat on the 18th between the villages of Goboa and Litri that killed "dozens" (RocketChat, November 20, 2020). (aberfoylesecurity.com)
  • This was even as French military forces remained predominant among international actors in anti-terrorist operations in the Sahel and French officials continued to take the lead on a number of non-military initiatives. (ecfr.eu)
  • A spokesperson for the French Armed Forces confirmed that planned flights assisting operations in the Sahel region of western Africa had been refused permission of passage. (dw.com)
  • The new Sahel Coalition will see Barkhane and FCG5S forces operating under joint command. (thedefensepost.com)
  • In March, the UN signed a French-led resolution to cut the number of forces in the DRC from 19,815 to 16,215 troops. (okayafrica.com)
  • Its 800 personnel there include special operations troops who train Nigerien forces to conduct counterterrorism raids and defend themselves against ambushes. (foreignpolicy.com)
  • Later on Tuesday, the commander of the Estonian Defense Forces said the number of injured Estonian troops had increased. (port.ac.uk)
  • For the Mali's former colonial rulers - with 5,000 troop mired in their own " forever war " in the Sahel region - a return to civilian rule was pronounced preferable, but also deemed 'imperative that we continue the fight against terrorism. (antiwar.com)
  • Experts have said a deal between Mali's military-led government and the private security firm to hire mercenaries would increase Moscow's influence while undermining French-led operations against armed groups operating in the country and the wider Sahel region. (aljazeera.com)
  • France's new strategic document provides that the country will maintain a "capacity to lead military operations, including those of high intensity, alone or within a coalition. (eurotrib.com)
  • French presence in the Sahel region is certainly nothing new-after all, every country involved in Operation Barkhane is a former French colony. (okayafrica.com)
  • With growing challenges from the Arctic Sea to the Mediterranean and a growing call for presence operations from the Gulf of Guinea to the South China Sea, how are the European nations building and maintaining fleets to remain effective and relevant regionally and on the high seas? (blogspot.com)
  • African leaders could siphon off wealth to French banks and property investments, access high-level Parisian medical facilities, and remain confident of their invulnerability because of the presence of French troop garrisons. (ocnus.net)
  • French troops will maintain their large presence abroad in an area stretching from sub-Saharan Africa to the Middle East, through the Horn of Africa, Macron said. (eurotrib.com)
  • The collision occurred shortly after troops engaged the insurgents who were fleeing on motorbikes and in a pick-up truck. (thedefensepost.com)
  • Germany is sending more troops and the US is pledging more help as part of efforts to hold back the tectonic shift taking place in the region. (nakedcapitalism.com)
  • Around 200 additional troops had already deployed to the region last month, but Lecointre said on January 22 that he was asking Macron for further French reinforcements accompanied by "additional logistical and intelligence" support. (thedefensepost.com)
  • The operation began in 2014 in an effort to fight extremist insurgencies in the Sahel region. (okayafrica.com)
  • The permanent stationing of French troops in the region is now seen as a source of hostility rather than of stability. (ocnus.net)
  • 5000 French troops were in the Sahel region. (thetaiwantimes.com)
  • The advanced team should start operations in the region in the middle of this year. (czdefence.com)
  • This isn't new: numerous protests against French troops have erupted over the years. (civicus.org)
  • The 24th MEU is embarked on the ships of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and deployed to maintain regional security in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. (19fortyfive.com)
  • The Islamic State, however, is determined to use the opportunity presented by regional states currently diverting their attention from security operations in favor of direly needed public health measures and economic reconstruction to correct the damage done to already fragile economies by COVID-19. (aberfoylesecurity.com)
  • Although the Group actively participated in the annexation of Crimea, as part of Russia's contingent of "polite people" who took over the peninsula in 2014, and was later noted to have participated in the infamous battle of Debaltseve in January 2015, the group's visibility reached new heights once Vladimir Putin announced the commencement of Russia's "special military operation. (columbia.edu)
  • Operation Sangaris was France's seventh military intervention in CAR since the county's independence in 1960. (okayafrica.com)
  • For the past three months, French authorities have denied that anything they hit was a wedding party or that there was any collateral damage in such an operation. (voanews.com)