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Mali, The Latest Front On The War Agains Al Qaida


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"Our Tiger pilots don't have enough experience in the machines deployed, to fully command those helicopters in borderline situations," said Reinhardt Schlepphorst, who chairs the specialized group representing aviation personnel.

None of the Tiger pilots had reached the 140 flight hours required under NATO rules before being sent on the military operation, said Schlepphorst.

 

 

ouch. and 140 flght hours is not much.

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http://www.dpa-international.com/topic/german-defence-minister-arrives-mali-wake-helicopter-crash-170730-99-446607

 

von der Leyen has moved a scheduled visit to Mali forward on occasion of the crash.

 

 

German defence minister arrives in Mali in wake of helicopter crash

Jul 30, 2017

 

Gao (dpa) – German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen arrived in northern Mali on Sunday, four days after two German soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash there.

Von der Leyen arrived in the early morning hours in Camp Castor, the military base of the German peacekeeping troops in the volatile town of Gao.

The minister was planning to spend the whole of Sunday with German soldiers and attend a memorial service.

The bodies of the two Bundeswehr soldiers had arrived Saturday night in Germany.

Family members and fellow soldiers received the remains at an air force base near the western city of Cologne. Von der Leyen also attended the private event.

The two soldiers' Tiger attack helicopter crashed Wednesday near the town of Tabankort in the Gao region of Mali.

The two pilots were conducting surveillance for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in the aftermath of violent clashes between armed groups Coordination des Mouvements de l'Azawad and the Plateforme.

The deaths were the first losses for Bundeswehr troops in the country in almost two years.

The cause of the crash remains unknown, with preliminary results pointing to a technical failure, according to the UN.

However, the recorder is damaged, and it is not yet clear whether information can be extracted from it, the spokesman added.

There are 875 German soldiers stationed in Gao as part of the UN's Mali peacekeeping operations.

Von der Leyen is also planning to visit the neighbouring West African nation of Niger.

 

 

 

 

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Why are they deploying those Tigers? They offfer nothing over a NH-90.

 

Well politicians made promises to France and the UN to supplant the Dutch Apaches...

 

there are four NH90 and four (three now) Tiger in Mali. Well the Tiger has nightvision and daylight optics and all that, the NH90 has NV googles for the crew at best and the Tiger crashed while on a mission to keep watch over troops on the ground.

Edited by Panzermann
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Your NH-90 have no FLIR?

 

No they do. But the UN wants a few combat helicopters for MINUSMA. The Tigers replaced Dutch AH-64.

 

 

Meanwhile Germany brings MANTIS AA systems to Mali in Novembre. But only the sensors? :wacko:

 

http://www.janes.com/article/73209/bundeswehr-plans-first-deployment-of-mantis-to-mali#.WZcs5_PdoZU.twitter

 

 

Bundeswehr plans first deployment of MANTIS to Mali
Nicholas Fiorenza - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
18 August 2017

The Bundeswehr is planning to deploy the Modular, Automatic and Network capable Targeting and Interception System (MANTIS) counter-rocket, artillery and mortar defence (C-RAM) system for the first time to Mali, Jane's has learned.

Deployment of MANTIS in the “sense and warn” configuration, without 35 mm guns, is expected in November, the Luftwaffe told Jane's. This will increase the safety of soldiers in Mali, where the threat from rockets, artillery and mortars in increasing, the Luftwaffe explained.

In June the Bundeswehr held Exercise ‘Big Ophelia II’ in the Gefechtsübungszentrum des Heeres (GÜZ), the German Army's Combat Training Centre in Letzlingen, eastern Germany, to prepare for the deployment of MANTIS to Mali.

(...)

Edited by Panzermann
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They were delivering water. Let me suggest that this is triumph of bureaucracy rather than results. What is the mission? Who is the enemy? What is the desired end goal? As for sending C-RAM....it's idiotic.

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I haven't heard anything in the news about continuing operations in Mali for a long time now (perhaps since 2014 when "Operation Serval" was supposedly completed). So news of continuing French involvement as far as military forces go is a little surprising.

 

Without asking anything to upset the OPSEC rule, is there still a large French presence in the area?

 

There's at least one book covering Serval in detail (in English) that I'm aware of, I may look into getting this one.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/French-War-Al-Qaida-Africa/dp/1107546788/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529141548&sr=1-1&keywords=The+French+War+on+Al+Qa%27ida+in+Africa

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Thirteen French troops killed in helicopter crash in Mali

 

26 November 2019

 

Thirteen French soldiers were killed when two helicopters collided during an operation against jihadists in Mali, the French president's office said.

 

Monday's accident is one of the single largest losses of life for the French military in decades.

 

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his "deep sadness" over the incident. An investigation has begun.

 

In 2013, France deployed thousands of troops to Mali after Islamist militants seized huge parts of the north.

 

Mali's army has since recaptured the territory but insecurity there continues and the violence has spread to other countries in the region.

 

France now has 4,500 troops deployed to support the forces of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad against Islamist militants.

 

The Tiger attack helicopter and Cougar military transport collided mid-air on Monday when they were supporting ground forces engaging insurgents near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger.

 

Among the dead was the son of centrist Senator Jean-Marie Bockel, the politician told the AFP news agency.

 

"These 13 heroes had only one goal: to protect us," President Macron wrote in a tweet. "I bow my head to their loved ones and comrades."

 

Another French soldier, Brig Ronan Pointeau, was killed earlier this month after an explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

 

In total, 38 French soldiers have been killed in Mali since the country first intervened.

 

The brunt of the violence though is faced by local forces and civilians. An attack on a northern military post this month left 53 Malian troops dead.

 

[...]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50557511

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Very sad.

 

There seems to be something of a problem de conflicting helicopters from other aircraft in low altitude areas. I remember reading an account by a British Apache pilot in Afghanistan the he nearly had a head on with a predator drone. They normally didnt bother to turn the radar on for some reason.

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Date 02.02.2020

 

France to boost military troops in Africa's Sahel to counter terrorism

 

Paris has said it will deploy 600 additional troops to the border zone between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. French forces are also seeking to train local fighters who it says are unprepared to take on jihadi groups.

 

France announced Sunday it was bolstering its military presence in Africa's Sahel region to counter jihadi violence.

 

French Defense Minister Florence Parly said in a statement that the majority of the reinforcements would be sent by the end of February to the border zone connecting Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

 

The French government is planning to deploy a further 600 troops in addition to its already 4,500-strong operation in five countries across the Sahel region. The Defense Ministry said that boosting its military presence showed France's commitment to the anti-terrorist mission. The ministry also emphasized that Paris's allies were mobilizing their own troops.

 

France said the move to bolster its military was in response to an upsurge in violence in the Sahel region that has led locals to feel increasingly insecure.

 

France loses soldiers

 

Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced 220 new troops for the region at a G5 Sahel summit where he met up with leaders from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

 

France lost 13 of its own troops in a fatal air collision last November. The incident was the country's biggest military loss in decades and motivated Macron to announce that France would commence an in-depth review of its Operation Barkhane, with "all options on the table."

 

Paris will also send around 100 armored vehicles to Sahel, reported French news agency AFP, citing a military source.

 

Paris urges allies to step up

 

Chad is planning to deploy an additional battalion to the Sahel region, while the Czech Republic is requesting its parliament's approval for 60 troops to be sent to the territory.

 

The strengthening of troops to combat jihadi violence might finally relieve the fears of France's chief of staff, General Francois Lecointre, who had been calling for greater resources. In November, Lecointre told Macron's administration that the current level of French troops in such an expansive territory was "derisory."

 

France hopes other European Union allies will also join the effort.

 

Parly visited the US last week, where she met with her counterpart Mark Esper and asked for US support in "burden-sharing" in the Sahel region. The top commander of the American forces in Africa, General Stephen Townsend, supported Parly's view, and advised that Paris' allies should play a stronger role in Sahel.

 

France has lost 41 soldiers during the Sahel mission to date.

 

https://www.dw.com/en/france-to-boost-military-troops-in-africas-sahel-to-counter-terrorism/a-52232235

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Date 03.11.2020

French airstrikes kill over 50 people in Mali

French forces said they have killed more than 50 terrorists and captured 4 four others in an operation in Mali. The French defense minister said the action was a major blow to al-Qaeda.

The French government on Monday said that more than 50 terrorists linked to the al-Qaeda group were killed in central Mali during an operation launched by its anti-jihadist force in the region last week.

"I would like to reveal an operation of great importance which was carried out on October 30 in Mali by the Barkhane force, which was able to neutralize more than 50 jihadists and confiscated arms and material," said French Defense Minister Florence Parly.

"Four terrorists have been captured," French military spokesman Colonel Frederic Barbry said.

Explosives and a suicide vest had been found, he told reporters, adding that the group was "about to attack (an army) position in the region."

The French operation took place in an area near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger where government troops are fighting an Islamic insurgency, Parly said after a meeting with members of Mali's transitional government in the capital city of Bamako.

The offensive was launched after a drone detected a "very large" motorcycle caravan in the "three borders" area, she said. 

As the insurgents took cover under trees to escape surveillance, the French forces sent in two Mirage fighter jets and a drone to launch missiles, "neutralizing" the terrorists, Parly said, adding that around 30 motorcycles were destroyed.

Parly said the military action was a significant blow to a local terror group that has ties to al-Qaida via the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a regional jihadist alliance.

The defense minister arrived in Bamako after meeting with Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou and her Nigerien counterpart Issoufou Katambe.

Her visit to Mali comes after its interim government secured the release of four captives held by Islamist groups, in exchange for about 200 prisoners — some believed to terrorists.

One of the freed captives was 75-year-old Sophie Petronin, the last remaining French hostage in the world.

France has deployed more than 5,000 troops in the Sahel region to combat insurgents.

https://www.dw.com/en/french-airstrikes-kill-over-50-people-in-mali/a-55480178

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Date 13.11.2020

France says top al-Qaida leader in Mali killed

France says its forces have killed a senior al-Qaida commander during an operation in northeastern Mali. Bah ag Moussa was a leader of the militant group's North Africa wing.

France said Friday its forces had killed a senior al-Qaida commander during an operation in northeastern Mali.

Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said that a French military strike claimed the life of Bah ag Moussa, a leader of the militant group's North Africa wing.

"A historic figure of the jihadist movement in the Sahel, Bah ag Moussa is considered responsible for several attacks against Malian and international forces," Parly said in a statement.

Moussa, who was on the US terrorism list, was killed on Tuesday after an operation involving ground troops and helicopters.

What impact does Moussa's death have?

His death comes after a series of operations that have seen French forces kill dozens of Islamist fighters in recent weeks.

"This is a major success in the fight against terrorism," Parly said.

Security experts in Mali are more skeptical regarding the impact of Moussa's death. Ousmane Kornio, a Mali security expert who advises the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Germany, does not believe that his killing will curb terror activities in the country.

"Terrorism in the region is like a snake with many heads," Kornio told DW. "If you cut off one, another head grows in its place."

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/france-says-top-al-qaida-leader-in-mali-killed/a-55584728

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Date 03.01.2021

Mali: Targeted attack kills two French soldiers

The attack came just days after three French soldiers were killed in Mali by the al-Qaida-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM).

Two French soldiers were killed in northwestern Mali when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device on Saturday, according to the French presidency. A similar attack on French troops based in Mali killed three troops just days earlier.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed grief over the deaths of Sergeant Yvonne Huynh and Brigadier Loic Risser in the Menaka region, his office said in a statement. Another soldier was wounded in the blast, it added.

Huynh, 33, was the first female soldier sent to the Sahel region since the French operation against Islamists began there in 2013.

Both Huynh and Risser were members of a regiment specializing in intelligence work.

"Their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device during an intelligence mission," the French presidency said of Saturday's incident.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/mali-targeted-attack-kills-two-french-soldiers/a-56117822

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https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/uk-may-ask-france-to-return-chinook-helicopters/ar-BB1dt6gN

It comes as senior RAF chiefs lobby the Ministry of Defence to provide Chinooks which would allow injured troops to be transported quickly back to hospital within the so-called "golden hour". In a briefing last week, one high level RAF commander said: "Mali is a particularly challenging environment and our long range reconnaissance troops would be subject to some stress. The opportunity to protect them with our own Chinooks is one we're looking at very closely." He added; "The Chinook has a long history in mobile and medial extraction capability (and would give us) the opportunity to allow our troops to go further and deeper into Mali to identify human terrain in Timbuktu and beyond."

Around 300 soldiers from the Light Dragoons the Royal Anglian Regiment in Mali in December as part of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) - officially the UN's bloodiest ever peacekeeping operation..

But the original mission, described in 2019 as providing "long range reconnaissance" to pinpoint Jihadi activity, has been severely watered down.

Despite the use of surveillance drones and innovative powdered blood plasma soldiers are being limited to a 50km 'operational box" or asked to train other troops in camp, instead of the two-week sorties deep into enemy territory hundreds of kilometres away.

Speaking last night Rob Clark, a Defence Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society think tank, said: "We undertook the UN mission in Mali because we wanted to show that Britain would remain a global player after Brexit.

"But the whole point of our mission - the reason why it was so welcomed by the UN's Swedish commander Lieutenant General Dennis Gyllensporre - is that we were supposed to deploy a capable long range reconnaissance capability which has been sorely lacking.

"This was supposed to provide accurate and reliable intelligence in order to defeat the enemy and provide security for the Malian population, which is the UN's strategic end-state.

"We are not doing this, because of the 50 km restriction placed by the MoD due to the lack of a credible air capability to provide Casualty Evacuation and troop transport."

When the UK signed up, the UN mission was receiving air cover from Canada. This was replaced by a 12-month Romanian mission which carried out 18 so-called Medevacs by helicopter before leaving in October.

With the UK having committed itself to between three and five years in Mali, MoD planners failed to anticipate that the Romanian air cover would not be replaced by another nation.

France, which has led its own, bloody, Mali mission since 2012, was loaned three RAF Chinooks and 100 supporting personnel in 2018. The helicopters have clocked over 2,000 hours of flying and moved over 13,000 troops and 1,100 tonnes of equipment into battle as well as providing crucial Medevac.

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Inside Mali’s coup within a coup

May 26, 2021 8.02pm BST

On the afternoon of May 24, the Malian transitional president, Bah Ndaw, and his prime minister, Moctar Ouane, were arrested by members of the armed forces and taken to the Soundiata Keïta military facility in Kati, a camp that has been at the heart of every coup that has taken place in the country. Two days later, Ndaw and Ouane resigned, according to a spokesperson for the military junta, known as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP).

Mali has been under a transitional government for 18 months, following the coup d’état of August 18, 2020, in which the military overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Kéita. General elections are scheduled for early 2022, between February and March.

This current situation seems to be taking the country back to the starting point of August 2020. So how did Mali get here?

A tense background

The popular fervour that accompanied the 2020 coup d’état faded very quickly. The junta, which had initially embodied the much hoped-for change, eventually appeared to be a repeat of the system it overthrew. None of the dignitaries of the old regime were questioned, including those against whom there were strong accusations.

On May 14, Ouane submitted the resignation of his government to Ndaw, who then immediately reappointed the prime minister to his post and asked him to begin discussions with the political class with a view to forming the next government. This was seen as a welcome step, because it re-established a dialogue between the new authorities and the political class, which had broken down in the months since the 2020 coup. But it seems to have gone badly.

The May 14 cabinet reshuffle took place in an extremely tense context. The M5 protest movement – which opposes the transitional government and is calling for the dissolution of the National Transitional Council – had already scheduled a demonstration for June 4.

Meanwhile, the Mali National Workers’ Union (UNTM) had begun a second straight week of strike action, which was to continue until May 28. Given the political situation, and having no one to talk to in the absence of a government, the union suspended its strike and called on its members to return to work on May 26 until the situation returned to normal.

The colonels of the “ex-CNSP” were informed of the new government at the same time as ordinary Malians – that is, through the media when the list of new ministers was published on May 24. They were surprised to see that two of their members: the minister of defence, Sadio Camara, and the minister of security and civil protection, Modibo Koné, had been left out.

Their reaction was not long in coming: barely an hour after the publication of the new composition of the government, Ouane and Ndaw were arrested and taken to the military camp in Kati.

[...]

France v Russia

Since the president and his prime minister were arrested, a certain opinion has been formed by supporters of the junta who believe that the current situation comes down to a confrontation of two divergent points of view.

The first, represented by the arrested executive, is seen as beholden to the interests of France – the publication of the new cabinet came barely 48 hours after Ndaw’s return from Paris. The second, representing the junta, opposes the influence of Mali’s former coloniser, promoting instead a rapprochement with Russia.

This latter argument carries a lot of weight with those who have a negative view of the French military presence in Mali, and who regularly protest against operations in the country.

An immediate analysis that can be made regarding this latest power grab is that the members of the junta are worried they have not been sufficiently involved in the formation of the new government, especially after the dismissal of two of its members.

Beyond the simple loss of these ministerial posts, it’s probable the junta saw the announcement of the new government as the beginning of the process of its removal from Mali’s political affairs. This could also have meant the beginning of legal problems for those involved, given that the Malian constitution makes coup d’état a crime for which there is no statute of limitations.

What happens next? The transitional government will probably receive the support of ECOWAS and of Mali’s international partners, first and foremost France. It is now up to these different players to intervene, because they are the only ones able to resolve this fast-moving situation.

https://theconversation.com/inside-malis-coup-within-a-coup-161621

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