Three French soldiers killed by explosive device in Mali operation

Three French soldiers killed by explosive device in Mali operation

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 French soldiers keep watch on March 26, 2019 during a break in the military convoy's trip between Gossi and Hombori ahead of the start of the French Barkhane Force operation in Mali's Gourma region. AFP - DAPHNE BENOIT
 
 Three French soldiers were killed Monday in Mali when their armoured vehicle struck an explosive device in the Hombori region in the centre of the poor Sahel state, the Élysée Palace said.
 
 The deaths brought to 47 the number of French soldiers killed in Mali since France first intervened militarily in January 2013 to help drive back Islamist jihadists who had overrun parts of the West African country.

President Emmanuel Macron "salutes the memory of these soldiers with the greatest respect," the president's office said in a statement.

He underscored "France's determination to continue the fight against terrorism," it said.

France's Barkhane force numbers 5,100 troops spread across the arid Sahel region and has been fighting jihadist groups alongside soldiers from Mauritania, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, who together make up the G5 Sahel group.

 A UN peacekeeper was killed in northern Mali and another seriously wounded after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb on Thursday, the UN mission said. The attack came as civil servants in the capital, Bamako, protested against the "selective release" of foreign hostages in hostage swap deals by the government.
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The attack on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali – known by the French acronym MINUSMA – occurred around 1.30pm local time when “a vehicle of the MINUSMA Force hit a mine or explosive device, about 50 km from the town of Kidal. The explosion resulted in the death of a peacekeeper. Another, seriously injured, was evacuated," according to the force.

The nationalities of the peacekeepers were not provided.

But a teacher from the town near Anefis told AFP that the attacked convoy was a supply convoy escorted by Egyptian peacekeepers.

"MINUSMA will not be intimidated by these attacks, and remains determined to support the people and government of Mali in their efforts to bring lasting peace to the country," said its leader, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, in a statement.
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Mali has been struggling to contain a jihadist insurgency that first emerged in the north in 2012, and has since spread to the centre of the country and neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.  

Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed in the conflict to date, and hundreds of thousands have had to flee their homes.

MINUSMA is the most dangerous UN peacekeeping mission in the world, with more than 220 deaths since its deployment in 2013 in more than 130 in hostile acts.

The blast occurred some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the northern city of Kidal, in the latest violence to hit the conflict-ridden Sahel state.

Senior AU official urged dialogue with extremists

The attack came as a senior African Union official has urged dialogue with extremists in Africa's conflict-ridden Sahel region, in an op-ed published in a Swiss newspaper.

"Any innovative idea is welcome to silence weapons in Africa, first and foremost those wielded by terrorists and violent extremists," AU Peace and Security Commissioner Smail Chergui said.

He pointed to Afghanistan, where the United States and the Taliban agreed a truce in late February, as a possible template.

That deal could "inspire our member states to explore dialogue with extremists and encourage them to put down their weapons", he said.

Protests over ‘selective’ hostage releases

Chergui's appeal comes after Mali's government this month swapped some 200 prisoners for four hostages who were being held by an al Qaeda-affiliated group.

The last French citizen held hostage in the world, Sophie Pétronin, was released alongside Mali opposition figure Soumaila Cissé, along with two Italians.

Anger over the conflict in Mali contributed to protests against former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, which culminated in his ouster in a military coup on August 18.

Keita had previously said he was willing to enter talks with jihadists, although it is unclear to what extent his government engaged in dialogue.

Around a hundred civil servants gathered in the capital Bamako on Thursday demanding the release of local officials held hostage by jihadists, a week after Pétronin and two Italian captives were freed.

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The demonstrators held posters condemning the "selective release" of foreign hostages as they filed a motion with the prime minister's office demanding the release of eight local leaders kidnapped since 2018.

Around 10 other municipal administrative officials "have been held for more than a year", according to the text.

In his op-ed on Wednesday, Chergui warned that foreign troops deployed in the Sahel will not stay in the region forever, and urged African government to take security matters into their own hands.

France has 5,100 soldiers deployed across the Sahel region as part of its anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane.

 The French government said Monday its forces had killed more than 50 jihadists aligned to Al-Qaeda in air strikes in central Mali.
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The offensive took place on Friday in an area near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, where government troops are struggling to rout an Islamic insurgency, French Defence Minister Florence Parly said after meeting members of Mali’s transitional government.

“On October 30 in Mali, the Barkhane force conducted an operation that neutralised more than 50 jihadists and confiscated arms and material,” Parly said, referring to the French-led anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane.

She added that around 30 motorcycles were destroyed.

Parly, who earlier met Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou and her Nigerien counterpart Issoufou Katambe before heading to Bamako, said the operation was launched after a drone detected a “very large” motorcycle caravan in the “three borders” area.

When the jihadists moved under trees to try and escape surveillance, the French force sent in two Mirage jets and a drone to launch missiles, leading to the “neutralisation” of the insurgents, Parly said.

Military spokesman Colonel Frederic Barbry said that “four terrorists have been captured”.

Explosives and a suicide vest had been found, he told a reporters in a conference call, saying that the group had been “about to attack (an army) position in the region”.

Barbry also said that another operation, this time targeting the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, was also underway, with a total of 3,000 soldiers.

The results of the operation, launched about a month ago, would be announced in the coming days, he said.

Significant blow

Parly said the action marked a “significant blow” to the Ansarul Islam group which she said was linked to Al-Qaeda via the GSIM alliance led by Iyad Ag Ghaly.

Ghaly has emerged as a top jihadist leader in the Sahel since the death of the Qaeda commander Abdelmalek Droukdel, who was killed by French forces in Mali in June.

The United Nations has some 13,000 troops deployed in Mali as part of its peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA, while France has 5,100 deployed in the Sahel region.

Mali has been struggling to contain a brutal jihadist insurgency which first emerged in the north of the country in 2012, overtaking a rebellion by mostly ethnic Tuareg separatists.

Former colonial power France launched a military operation to drive back the Islamists in 2013, but fighting has spread to central Mali, and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, leaving thousands dead and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes.

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Vast swathes of Mali lie outside effective government control. Frustration over the seemingly endless conflict contributed to mass protests against president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita this year, culminating in his ousting in a military coup on August 18.

Many analysts argue that engaging in dialogue with jihadists is one of the few escape routes from Mali’s cycle of violence, and government leaders in Bamako increasingly view the option favourably.

Mali’s new interim government, which was appointed to rule for 18 months before staging elections, appears willing to engage in dialogue.

Last month, it secured the release of four hostages held by Islamist groups—including 75-year-old Sophie Petronin, the last remaining French hostage in the world—in exchange for about 200 prisoners, some of whom are thought to have been jihadists.

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