DURING the military intervention of France in Mali January 2013, officials in Paris were at pains to emphasise the exercise's modest ambition. "France can intervene only in an exceptional moment, for an exceptional and limited period", said President François Hollande, as French troops swept into the west African country to beat back a jihadist advance that was threatening Mali's capital, Bamako. After stopping the rebels in their tracks, France, he insisted, would hand over the country's security to African forces.
A year-and-a-half later, the French are less bashful about their intentions in the region. On July 17th Mr Hollande is setting off on a trip to the Ivory Coast, Niger and Chad to herald the onset of a new counter-terrorism operation, codenamed "Barkhane", which will aim to tackle the jihadist threat across the Sahel, the region comprising the southern fringe of the Sahara desert.
On a visit two months ago to Abidjan, the Ivory Coast's commercial capital, France's defence minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, spoke of a muscular new policing role for France in west...Continue reading
[view whole blog post
]
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
See More
Report Abuse