Mali mainly, 2012 coup, drugs & more

[davidbfpo]

I have never heard of this group the article examines:

The Macina Liberation Front has opportunistically played on perceptions of ethnic, economic, religious, and political marginalization to become one of the most active militant Islamist groups in Mali.

Link:https://africacenter.org/spotlight/c...remist-threat/

[AdamG]

Mad Max v.2019 *

Suspected jihadists killed 21 Malian soldiers in a raid on an army camp in central Mali on Sunday, military sources said, after a dawn attack that the armed forces believe was led by a deserter.

Driving cars and motorbikes*, the attackers stormed Dioura army camp in Mali's central the Mopti region, in the latest assault on the military as the country grapples with the spread of jihadist groups and instability.

The attack was carried out "by terrorist groups under the command of Ba Ag Moussa, a deserter army colonel", according to the Malian armed forces.

https://www.france24.com/en/20190317...a-attack-mopti

[davidbfpo]

hat tip to WoTR for this article, which opens with - optimism shines through IMHO:

A few weeks ago, the Danish government announced it would submit to its parliament a request for the deployment of two medium lift helicopters AW101 and about 70 military personnel to the Sahel region as part of the French-led counter-terrorism operation “Barkhane.” Once the deployment is approved by lawmakers, as appears likely, Danish assets would join the operation in late 2019.
This announcement has received little attention, but it is significant — both for the fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel region and for the future of European defense cooperation. It provides an insight into a new approach to the project of building European defense, one that does not necessarily rely on the structures or complex institutional settings of the European Union, but instead focuses on pragmatic and operational cooperation between states.

Link:https://warontherocks.com/2019/03/wh...-in-the-sahel/

[davidbfpo]

Canada has been asked to extend for three months its helicopter deployment in Mali; their role is casevac. Rumanian Puma helicopters are not ready yet, their scheduled arrival is July 2019.
Link:https://globalnews.ca/news/5086209/c...ion-extension/

BBC and others report:

At least 50 people have been killed in an attack on a village in central Mali by armed men wearing traditional Dogon hunters' clothing

Links, note the first link has slightly more detail:https://www.france24.com/en/20190323-mali-100-fulani-herders-massacred-donzo-ogossagou-ethnic-violence? and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-47680836

[davidbfpo]

Canada will not extend their year-long Chinook medevac deployment:https://www.theglobeandmail.com/cana...stia-freeland/

[davidbfpo]

Two items. A film report via Al-Jazeera, which looks at the Canadian Chinook deployment and the Dutch SOF (who leave soon too):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON0-VybdyTc

Then a SME Q&A:https://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org....no-charbonneau