Mali

The operations come as the France-led Operation Barkhane builds command coordination with local partner forces in sub-Saharan Africa’s Sahel region, setting up dedicated coordination mechanisms for the new Sahel Coalition in Niger’s capital Niamey and Chad’s capital N’Djamena.

The Swedish Armed Forces has begun planning for a possible deployment including helicopters to the new France-led special operations Task Force Takuba in Mali, following a request from the government. … France has for months been trying to build support for the new Task Force Takuba that will train, advise, assist and accompany local forces in their fight against Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates in the region.

The United Nations’ top humanitarian official in Mali urged more engagement with armed groups including jihadists, and more aid and development funding, saying on Monday that extra troops would not help to stabilise the country.

Mali is to launch a major new military operation in seven troubled regions in the east and center of the country to “counter terrorist and criminal threats” and assert the authority of the state.

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. … “This is a major effort for the French Armed Forces: most of the reinforcements will be deployed in the so-called “three borders” zone between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger,” Parly said.

Mali will increase the size of its army by about 50% in a recruitment drive this year aimed at uprooting jihadist groups, Prime Minister Boubou Cisse said on Wednesday.

France hopes “good sense” will prevail and the US will not slash support for French military operations in West Africa, where groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State are expanding their foothold. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made the appeal as Defence Minister Florence Parly was due to meet US counterparts to discuss the crisis in the Sahel.

At least 20 members of Mali’s security forces were killed on Sunday, January 26 in a major assault against a military camp in near the border with Mauritania later claimed by al-Qaeda-linked JNIM.

France will further bolster its Operation Barkhane force in the Sahel, and the new international Task Force Takuba will be fully operational by the autumn, the country’s most senior military officer said on Wednesday, January 22.

Chad’s defense minister discussed plans to deploy a battalion of military personnel to the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border area with his French and Swedish counterparts on Monday, January 20.