Mali mainly, 2012 coup, drugs & more

[Piranha]

I get their newsletter, automated my 'catching' here.

Language barriers are troublesome, so I make a conscious effort to penetrate them.

Could you provide us with a link for that?
I could be of help with the language.

Happy Easter to all, in whichever way you celebrate it.

[davidbfpo]

A short NYT article, which appears to be based on unofficial statements from French & US officials and not that we have not heard this language before:

So the group that terrorized half a country, northern Mali, in the heart of West Africa for much of 2012, taking over its major towns, and threatening other nations in the region, has been reduced to a pale remnant of its former self. It is no longer the pre-eminent threat to the fragile states in West Africa’s Sahel region — the band of desert and semi-desert running just below the Sahara.

Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/wo...=tw-share&_r=1

[SWJ Blog]

Northern Mali Conflict 2012

Entry Excerpt:



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[AdamG]

Presented separately from the Mali thread, to highlight the unique aspects of this Operation.

Operation Barkhane, named after a crescent-shaped sand dune, will involve the deployment of 3000 military personnel across the vast Sahel region, backed by six fighter jets, 20 helicopters and three drones. The mission will form a belt of French military presence in five northern African countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Niger and Mauritania.

Operation Barkhane will bring Operation Serval, the French military intervention in the north of Mali since January 2013, to a close.

The French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that with Operation Barkhane France will counter the threat of terrorism in the region. "There still is a major risk that jihadists develop in the area that runs from the Horn of Africa to Guinea-Bissau," he said.

22 July 2014
http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/201...nfluence-sahel

Hollande has said the Barkhane force will allow for a "rapid and efficient intervention in the event of a crisis" in the region.

Hollande also stressed the importance of engagement by African forces.

Chadian President Idriss Deby agreed, saying it is not always France’s job to ensure security in the region, and Africans must also take charge.

http://m.france24.com/en/20140719-ho...n-west-africa/

In terms of division of labor between France and the G5 Sahel, four permanent military bases have been established:

- headquarters and air force in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena under the leadership of French Général Palasset;

- a regional base in Gao, north Mali, with at least 1,000 men;

- a special-forces base in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou;

- an intelligence base in Niger’s capital, Niamey, with over 300 men; the air base of Niamey, is important as it hosts drones in charge of gathering intelligence across the entire Sahel-Saharan region;

- aside from the four permanent bases, several temporary bases will be created with an average of thirty to fifty men, where and when required.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/...barkhane-11029

At its core, Barkhane is intended to focus on cross-border security and to combating the threat of terrorism emerging from Islamist militants. By shifting toward a regional focus, and away from bi-lateral relationships, Palasset will gain valuable distance from internal politics within each of the partner states. This distance means flexibility, and further enhances Barkhane’squick deployment capabilities.

Palasset’s force is set to be provisioned as follows:

20 helicopters (assumedly a mix of Gazelle light attack helicopters, and transport Puma or and Cougar transport helicopters). It is unclear if Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters will be included in the mission force structure.
200 armoured vehicles (a mix of Véhicule de l’Avant Blindé (VABs), Véhicule Blindé de Combat d’Infanterie (VBCIs), Engin de Reconnaissance à Canon de 90 mm (ERC 90s Sagaie’s);
ten dedicated transport/reconnaissance aircraft,
six fighter planes (Rafaele Mirage 2000’s)
three drones (Harfangs).

“When the Sahel is threatened, Europe and France are threatened,” Hollande told French soldiers in Chad during a three day visit to West Africa in late July. While also pushing French trade, the president used the visit through Ivory Coast, Niger, and Chad to solidify support amongst these countries for Operation Barkhane. “There still is a major risk that jihadists develop in the area that runs from the Horn of Africa to Guinea-Bissau” says French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. “The aim is to prevent what I call the highway of all forms of traffics to become a place of permanent passage, where jihadist groups between Libya and the Atlantic Ocean can rebuild themselves, which would lead to serious consequences for our security.”

http://www.africandefence.net/operat...nder-the-hood/

The existence of a single operational command in Chad (1 300 troops) for the whole Sahel is a new element. Operation Barkhane has a base in Mali (1 000 troops), an intelligence centre in Niger (300 soldiers) and a special forces centre in Burkina Faso. While Côte d’Ivoire (with its 550 troops) will serve as an operational base to support the deployment, the bases in Senegal (350 troops) and Gabon (450 troops) remain regional cooperation centres. Some 3 000 soldiers will be mobilised in a wider area of action to support the G5 members (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad)

France provides human, financial and logistical means, but this deployment, dedicated to the fight against armed terrorist groups, will not affect the French military’s traditional missions. Under military cooperation, African armies will continue to receive training and equipment to carry out joint actions with French troops. The presence and/or transit of French forces in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad are regulated by cooperation agreements that date back to the 1960s and have been updated since. Mauritania, for its part, signed an agreement with France to fight terrorism in November 2013.

Three priorities of France’s policy in Africa – Africanisation (supporting African capacities), Europeanisation (including French action in European policy) and multilateralism (for France to act in a multilateral framework, such as the United Nations) – have been adapted to the realities in the Sahel following the final declaration of the December 2013 Elysée Summit for Peace and Security in Africa. However, with its intervention in Mali, France is alone on the Sahel front.

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.ph...ace&Itemid=111


French Government website
http://www.defense.gouv.fr/operation...ation-barkhane

[AdamG]

Ooops.

...if the French high command had thought more about the etymology of the word, it might have gone for another animal name.

The word barkhan is of Russian-Turkistan origin, said to have been coined by a Russian naturalist, Alexander von Middendorf, in 1881. The worrying aspect of it for France is not the Russian-Turkistan association, but the year 1881. While von Middendorf was busy coining the word barkhan for his dunes, France was experiencing a military nightmare in the middle of the Sahara.

The story of the disastrous Flatters expedition of 1880-81 is imprinted on the French colonial psyche, partly because of the absurdity of the project, partly because of its foolhardy planning and leadership, but mostly for its gruesome and grizzly details, which so shocked France that a halt was placed on further colonial penetration into the Sahara for almost 20 years.

Flatters set out from Ouargla in November 1880 at the head of a mixed column of over 90 men to reconnoitre a route for a railway across the Sahara. Such a grandiose scheme, designed to bring France closer to her Sahelian and West Africa territories, had been given impetus by the Americans succeeding in building a railway across their continent 11 years earlier.

The eve of their departure was celebrated with a grand dinner and the finest champagne, but also much nervousness, as local Chaamba tribesmen warned that they would run into trouble if they tried to enter Tuareg territory.

As the column headed south, Tuareg drew Flatters deeper into their country, before dividing his force at a water hole and massacring half of them. The column had got to within 200 kms of today’s border with Niger. The survivors were allowed to escape, but only for the Tuareg to play cat and mouse with them.

First, Tuareg offered them dates that had been crushed with efelehleh (Hyoscyamus muticus falezlez), one of the world’s most deadly plants. Most of those who ate it died in delirium and agony. The survivors then watched the Tuareg decapitate three of their Chaamba guides (most of whom, knowing the ways of the Tuareg, had refused the dates), while their accompanying Tidjaniya mokhadem (holy man) was split with a single blow of a broadsword from head to hips.

The remaining survivors continued their desperate trudge northwards, with those falling asleep being killed and eaten, as cannibalism became the means of survival. The last surviving Frenchman, the ailing Sergeant Pobéguin, was shot and eaten after much discussion as to whether a Frenchmen should not be treated with more respect. On 4 April 1881, 11 half-dead Chaamba crawled into Ouargla to tell the tale.

Those involved in Operation Barkhan will not wish to be reminded of the symbolism and memories of 1881.

- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns....tes2FVkG.dpuf

[SWJ Blog]

Human Insecurity in Mali

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[SWJ Blog]

Conflict Resolution: The Case of Northern Mali

Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.

[davidbfpo]

An illustration how complicated northern Mali can be.
Link:https://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...thern-mali.php

[davidbfpo]

A succinct summary by a Canadian academic (in the 2nd link) after Canada's decision to deploy:

Canada plans to deploy two Chinook transport helicopters and four Griffon attack helicopters to provide armed escort and protection in the fight against Islamist militants in the violence-torn West African nation.

Link:https://www.theglobeandmail.com/feed...ticle38299902/

He ends with:

This is a simple snapshot of the conflict landscape that Canada is entering. As our forces prepare for the challenges ahead, serious questions must be asked of our government about how to ensure that Canadian blood and treasure are not wasted, and that we do not leave Mali worse off than when we arrived. Every single tough lesson from Afghanistan, Somalia and Rwanda must be brought to bear.

His three reasons in brief:

First, Mali is awash with ethnic and tribal warfare that can seem near-incomprehensible to outsiders. Secondly, while Platform and CMA clash, the Islamists in northern Mali have embarked on a unity campaign. Thirdly, Canadian forces are entering the heart of Mali’s volatile war economy, and the armed groups in the region where Canada will be based are implicated in criminal networks that traffic narcotics, humans and weapons across the region. The fact is, these ethnic militias are directly profiting from the political chaos.

Link:http://w.theglobeandmail.com/opinion...ssion-to-mali/

[davidbfpo]

A week old, short French TV documentary (21 mins) on a three month tour to Mali by a French Foreign Legion detachment, as part of Operation Barkhane; the reporter was with them for six days and not a shot was fired.
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK8T3IxQo4M

[davidbfpo]

A recipe for perpetual conflict and not just in the Tuareg north. A quick overview after the missing vehicle for the ambush of US & Niger patrol.
Link:https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...nce/546985002/

[davidbfpo]

A short article by the Oxford Research Group; in summary:

China’s peacekeeping in Mali represents another example of the country's increasing willingness to send personnel into an active conflict zone and a shift in Chinese strategic thinking.

Link:https://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org....gies-and-risks

[davidbfpo]

An ICG report and sub-titled:

War between the state and jihadists in central Mali has led to growing intercommunal violence. To spare civilians additional harm, the government should explore the possibility of talks with the insurgents about local ceasefires and humanitarian aid – while remaining open to broader discussions.

Link:https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/sahel/mali/276-speaking-bad-guys-toward-dialogue-central-malis-jihadists

A comment by Richard Barrett, ex-UN, SIS plus via Twitter:

ICG paper on 'Talking to the Bad Guys' in CentralMali have far wider relevance and possible applicability. Understanding and addressing what really lies behind persistent 'jihadist' violence, is the only way to end it.

[davidbfpo]

An IISS overview, subtitled:

With alarming increases in jihadist violence across Mali, the situation in the country has transformed into a multidimensional crisis with overlapping conflicts and security challenges.

It ends with:

So far, the Malian and Burkinabe authorities have been unable to contain the insurgents or tackle the sharp increase in communal violence. International stakeholders – the MINUSMA, the French and the G5 Sahel – have had little success either. Failure to address the roots of the insurgency will harden communal divisions and risks further regional destabilisation.

Link:https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/...licts-in-mali?

[davidbfpo]

A mix of updates and with our current political focus unlikely to attract much attention:

1.

Three RAF Chinook helicopters and around 100 personnel have been operating with French forces in the north of the country since 2018, in a non-combat role. The Chinooks have provided valuable heavy-lift to the mission, a capability the French don't have.That commitment was recently extended by a further six months to June 2020, viewed as a gesture of Anglo-French goodwill post-Brexit.

Link:https://news.sky.com/story/uk-to-sen...ssion-11767832

Actually this was reported on the 8th July 2019 by a US website:https://thedefensepost.com/2019/07/08/uk-raf-sahel-barkhane-deployment-extended/ and the UK's:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/08/theresa-may-says-britain-will-remain-top-tier-military-nation/

Comment - nothing at all to do with Canada withdrawing its Chinooks.

2.

The UK is to send 250 troops to Mali in the biggest peacekeeping deployment since Bosnia and potentially the most dangerous mission for British forces since Afghanistan. The soldiers will form a long-range reconnaissance task group, specifically chosen for their ability to operate in small teams and in violent, contested areas of the country. They will be asked reach parts of Mali that most militaries cannot, to feed on-the-ground intelligence back to the mission headquarters in Gao. They will arrive in the country early next year.

Link:https://news.sky.com/story/uk-to-sen...ssion-11767832

Comment - sounds remarkably like a UK SF mission and why such a delay? Maybe additional desert training is needed and learning French!

Added a week later. A longer commentary by Oxford Research Group, with several comments by serving, if anonymous UK soldiers who have served in Africa.
Link:https://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org....f-3db118e6dfcc

[davidbfpo]

1583155964243.jpg

How the rate of deaths from attacks has intensified

Key
Red: Armed clashes; Purple: Violence against civilians and Brown (Feint) Explosions.
The time scale is from 2011 to 2019

Source: https://acleddata.com/analysis/

[davidbfpo]

1583083115760.jpg

Source: ACLED once more!