France Expands Military Mission in Africa

France Expands Military Mission in Africa

July 20, 2014 • From theTrumpet.com

Operation Serval gives way to Operation Barkhan to cover more territory.

By Richard Palmer

France will replace its military mission in Mali with an expanded counterterrorism operation across the Sahel region, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced, July 13. This move will give France a substantial military presence across North Africa.

France currently has about 1,700 troops stationed in Mali as part of Operation Serval. This operation will be replaced with Operation Barkhan, which station 3,000 soldiers in Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso, supported by six fighter jets, three drones and 20 helicopters. One thousand soldiers will remain in Mali.

The 3,000 count does not include 2,000 French soldiers in the Central African Republic, nor does it include France’s 450-strong presence in the Ivory Coast, which will be increased to 800 starting next year.

“The deployment stands in marked contrast to the mood six or seven years ago—when François Hollande’s predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, felt able to plan for a significant reduction in the French military presence in West Africa,” noted bbc’s West Africa analyst, Paul Melly.

“Northern Africa is turning into a battleground with enormously important prophetic implications,” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in the April 2013 print edition.

It’s a battleground France is taking very seriously.

“Iran has designs on being the strongest power throughout the region,” Mr. Flurry wrote, “and is extending its reach throughout North Africa. But Iran isn’t the only one interested in Africa. Germany is making strong inroads as well. Both of these powers are racing to get as much control of North Africa as they can.”

Iranian-backed radical Islamists have made huge gains in the region, but Europe is pushing back. While France’s latest deployment will not be enough to defeat the Islamists, it will make it much harder for them to expand. The fact that even in a time of austerity France is prepared to undertake an expensive military mission shows the importance it gives to the region.

For more on the confrontation between Islam and Europe in North Africa, read Mr. Flurry’s article “Watch Algeria!” ▪