France's Military Is All Over Africa

www.businessinsider.com /frances-military-is-all-over-africa-2015-1
Jeremy Bender
This month's terrorist attacks in France have been linked to Al Qaeda's powerful franchise in Yemen. France has a built-in
advantage if it decides on some kind of foreign military response to the attacks or to the more general p: the country actually
has one of the most forward-deployed militaries in the world.
And its military has been active recently. France has played a pivotal and at times unilateral role in tackling extremism
and civil unrest throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
This role is aided by France's history of colonialism in Africa. Although a painful aspect of modern French history, the oftenbrutal and exploitative colonial project left France with a network of major military bases across the continent that survives
into the present day, as shown below and according to Radio France Internationale.

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Currently, France has over 3,000 troops spread across five countries in Africa Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and
Chad as part of Operation Burkhane. Based in Chad, the operation aims at disrupting potential militants threat across the
Sahel region of the continent.
Aside from combatting jihadist militancy, France also pushed heavily for intervention in Libya during the the country's
uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, and has been involved in peacekeeping operations in various African countries.
Here are some of France's most notable recent interventions.

Mali

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French soldiers patrol in the Terz valley, about 60 km (37 miles) south of the town of Tessalit in northern Mali March 20,
2013. France has deployed some 4,000 troops to Mali, alongside a regional African force, in a nine-week operation that has
driven Islamists into desert hideaways and mountains near the Algerian border. Stringer ./REUTERS
On January 11, 2013, France launched airstrikes against jihadist positions in northern Mali as part of Operation Serval.
The goal of the intervention was to prevent "the establishment of a terrorist state" after armed groups linked to al Qaeda
took over vast stretches of Mali starting in March 2012, after a military coup in the capital of Bamako that led to a nationwide power vacuum. France became involved in Mali following a request from the new Malian president and after jihadist
columns began approaching the country's populated south.
French involvement in Mali eventually morphed into a larger operation that involved ground troops and French special
forces.
France's successes in Mali, according to RAND, could serve as a model for future US expeditionary warfare as French
troops operated in small, efficient, and scalable units that made significant efforts to ingratiate themselves with the local
population.
Operation Serval, which ended in 2014 and at its height involved 4,000 French soldiers, was largely successful in helping
Mali push the al Qaeda -inked rebels out from the north of the country.
France has followed Operation Serval with Operation Barkhane, a task force of 3,000 French soldiers dedicated to tracking
Islamist rebels against the wider sub-Saharan area.

Central African Republic

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A French soldier patrols the villages in Bossangoa, north of the Central African Republic's capital Bangui January 3, 2014.
French and African troops deployed in the country have struggled to stop the tit-for-tat violence between Muslim Seleka
rebels, who seized power in March, and Christian self-defence militia, clashes that killed more than 1,000 people in
December. Andreea Campeanu/REUTERS
In 2008, France moved 300 troops into the Central African Republic's (CAR) capital of Bangui. The soldiers were involved in
helping to helping to stabilize the country in the face of rebel attacks spilling over from the conflict-torn Darfur region of
neighboring Sudan.
In December 2013, France began reinforcing these soldiers in an attempt to stabilize CAR after a rebel coalition overthrew
the country's government, sparking a brutal sectarian conflict between Muslim and Christian armed groups. France
increased the number of soldiers in the country to 2,000. But now that UN peacekeepers are being deployed to CAR,
France is expected to dial back its number of soldiers in the country to 800.
The UN Security Council, following a resolution submitted by France, will send 12,000 peacekeepers to the country. CAR
faces ethnic-religious cleansing after the country's Christian majority started carrying out reprisal killings against Muslims
following the rebels' overthrow of the government.

Chad

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French soldiers of the 16th Hunter's Battalion secure the tarmac at Abeche airport in eastern Chad August 4, 2004 as the
French military airlifts humanitarian aid. French troops are patrolling the area between the Sudanese border and refugee
camps in eastern Chad and assisting aid organisations in distributing relief to people fleeing Sudan's strife-torn Darfur
region. Reuters Photographer/REUTERS
French troops have played some role in Chad since the late 1986 as part of Operation Epervier . The operation was
designed to help Chad maintain its territorial integrity according to a bilateral agreement signed after Libyan dictator
Muammar Gaddafi's failed invasion of the country.
However, French troops never fully left Chad. Instead, the French established a base at N'Djamena, Chad's capital. A
contingent of approximately 800 French soldiers remained at the base and helped provide Chadian authorities with aerial
surveillance on the advance of Sudanese government-supported rebels, acting as a crucial force multiplier for Chadian
dictator Idris Deby during battles in the capital in 2006 and 2008.
As part of a global mission to tackle militancy across Africa, France launched Operation Barkhane in 2014 as a continuation
of Operation Epervier and Operation Servel. Operation Barkhane will be headquarted at N'Djamena and 1,200 troops will
be stationed in Chad.

Cte dIvoire

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France's Licorne ("Unicorn") forces prepare for a military operation in southern Ivory Coast April 11, 2011. U.N. and French
helicopters attacked forces loyal to Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo, damaging the presidential residence in Abidjan and
destroying heavy weapons after U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon ordered them silenced. Gbagbo refused to step down after his rival
Alassane Ouattara won last November's presidential election, according to results certified by the United Nations, reigniting
a civil war that has claimed more than a thousand lives and uprooted a million people. Luc Gnago/REUTERS
France has had an uneasy history with Cte dIvoire, also known as the Ivory Coast.
After gaining independence in 1960, the two countries had positive relations that worsened under President Laurent
Gbagbo starting in 2000. In 2002, a civil war split the Ivory Coast in half and the French intervened in Operation Unicorn.
Peace was largely brokered in the Ivory Coast by 2007. But the country remained effectively divided and French soldiers
continued to stay in the country. In 2011, violence again flared as Gbagbo refused to hand over power to his democratically
elected successor, Alassane Ouattara. French troops played a key role in removing Gbabgo from power.
Under France's reorganization of its military in Africa, the French plan to reinforce their base at Abidjan, Ivory Coast's
capital. The base will be used as an entry point onto the continent as well as a logistical support post.

Libya

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A Rafale fighter jet makes a catapult launch off the flight deck, where in two seconds the jet goes from 0 to 250 kms per
hour, aboard France's flagship Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier March 28, 2011. The Charles de Gaulle continues to run air
sorties against targets in Libya as France participates in the NATO no fly zone. Benoit Tessier/REUTERS
France was decisively behind the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya during the Arab Spring uprisings against Muammar
Gaddafi. France's interpretation of UN Resolution 1973, which imposed a no-fly zone over the country, was bolder than
either the US's or the UK's position.
The strikes against Gaddafi ultimately led to his overthrow and subsequent execution at the hand's of the Libyan rebels.
Since then, Libya has faced a rocky course as two rival governments, and various Islamist militias, have battled for power in
the country.
Concerned by the chaos and the flow of fighters and weapons from Libya into other parts of Africa, France has said that it is
ready to strike militants crossing over the Libyan border.

Djibouti

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French special forces practice speed boat skills off the coast of Djibouti on March 5, 2007. The unit are part of a French
battle group that includes the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle that are currently operating in the area. Sayyid
Azim/AP
Until France's rebalancing of forces across Africa following its intervention in Mali, Djibouti was the sight of the largest
concentration of French forces in Africa. From 1999 to 2001, Djibouti fought an insurgency that was eventually put down
with French assistance.
Following the war, Djibouti became increasingly stable. France gave operations of Camp Lemonnier, a former Foreign
Legion post, over to the government of Djibouti, which then leased it to the US in 2001.
France maintains over 1,500 troops in Djibouti as part of a security force. The French forces in Djibouti have taken part in
operations in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Ivory Coast.

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