France will
keep its troops in Mali
a month later than planned, with withdrawal beginning in April. France
is still not sure which senior Mali
leaders were killed recently, because definitive identification of these senior
but definitely dead men has proved difficult to confirm. In the last two weeks
days France
rapidly moved troops into the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains near the Algerian
border, where France
already knew of al Qaeda had bases. French warplanes have been bombing these
bases as more recon aircraft and UAVs are available to confirm al Qaeda
targets.
France and its African allies (especially the desert experienced Chadians)
are making an effort to kill or capture as many veteran al Qaeda men before
they can scatter to more distant sanctuaries. To this end the recent arrival of
American UAVs and electronic intelligence collecting aircraft have proved
crucial in detecting and tracking Islamic terrorists who attempt to leave the
mountains and head for Libya,
Algeria or more
distant points. France
would prefer to capture as many of these terrorists as possible, but second
best is killing them and searching the bodies. French aircraft have to do the
killing because the American UAVs are unarmed. The American aircraft have
apparently provided target information for at least sixty of the French air
strikes in the last few weeks. France
is also seeking to rescue seven French civilians believes held captive in the
Adrar des Ifoghas. So far the French force of 4,000 in Mali
has lost four troops killed during eight weeks of fighting. There are 1,200
French and 800 Chadian troops in the mountains near the Algerian border and
dozens of al Qaeda safe houses and weapons and ammo storage sites have been
captured or destroyed from the air.
An African peacekeeping force of about 5,000 troops is occupying the cities
and large towns in northern Mali
and fighting with al Qaeda men who did not make it to the mountains or across
the border. The destruction of so many al Qaeda bases in Mali,
and the death of hundreds of hard-core Islamic terrorists there have
demoralized Islamic radicals throughout North Africa. At
the same time all counter-terrorism forces in the region are trying to take
advantage of all this by seeking out Islamic terrorists fleeing Mali.
In the end it may be that driving al Qaeda out of Mali
was easy while dealing with the rebellious Malian Army proved to be much more
difficult. At the moment the Mali Army has about 10,000 people on the payroll
and about 6,000 of these are soldiers while the rest are support personnel. The
army has always been more of a political than a military force. Jobs in the
military are much sought after and those who get them are expected to bring the
support of their family for whoever runs the military. Until last year it was
senior politicians who controlled the military. Then a coup by junior officers,
seeking better weapons and equipment for the army displaced the political
control.
Politicians are notoriously corrupt in Mali
but the new army leadership, calling for clean government, has now become a
force to contend with in Mali
politics. To the foreign nations that supply much of the government budget (via
foreign aid) the coup is not acceptable. The foreigners want the elections
back, even though the elections were rigged by the corrupt politicians that the
younger officers despise. Unfortunately, these officers are not immune to the
endemic corruption and are turning into the kind of men they seek to replace.
It’s a messy situation that mixes rebellious troops with corrupt politicians.
While the EU (European Union) training force (220 military trainers and another
to train civilian officials) is planning to train and equip four battalions
(about have the troops in the Mali Army) to a higher standards, forcing out the
officers who support the coup will be a lot more difficult. The training
program begins on April 2nd.
March 6, 2013: A
French soldier was killed a hundred kilometers north of Gao in northern Mail
while accompanying a force of one hundred Chadian troops that encountered some
al Qaeda men. Four Chadians and an unknown number of terrorists were wounded.
In the last few days over a hundred al Qaeda men have been killed or wounded.
These men were part of a larger force (of several hundred al Qaeda) that were
either trapped in Gao or entered from Niger,
which is just across the Niger River.
In the northern mountains 2,000 French and Chadian troops killed at least 15
Islamic terrorists in several clashes today. This fighting took place in the
Ametetai valley, where over a hundred Islamic terrorists had taken refuge. The
valley has water, as do many other valleys in these mountains near the Algerian
border. The locals want no part of this fighting, but will provide information
with the right incentives (cash will often work, as it worked for al Qaeda,
which operated their lucrative and drug smuggling operations from bases in
these mountains).
March 3, 2013: Over the
last three days more than fifty Islamic terrorists were killed during several
clashes in northern Mali.
Ten Chadian and one French soldier were also killed. Dozens of vehicles and
large quantities of weapons and documents were captured. All this took place
between Gao and the Adrar des Ifoghas
Mountains near the Algerian border.
March 1, 2013: The
Chadian government went public with the news that Chadian troops in northern Mali
had killed two al Qaeda leaders on February 22nd.
Mali
announced that presidential elections will be held in July. It’s still unclear
if the army leadership will obey whoever is elected.
February 28, 2013: France
has spent $131 million for its Mali
operations so far and some French officials want to keep French troops there
until July. Other French leaders want to get the troops out beginning in March.
Apparently a compromise on the withdrawal date is in the works.
February 26, 2013: In
the northern city of Kidal a
suicide car bomber killed six armed Tuaregs manning a check point. The Tuareg
rebel militias split with al Qaeda over eight months ago and shifted their
allegiance to the French when French troops showed up in northern Mali.
Kidal is the nearest city to the Adrar des Ifoghas
Mountains.
February 22, 2013:
Chadian troops in northern Mali
believed they killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar (the planner of the January natural gas
facility attack in southern Algeria
that got 37 workers killed) and Abdelhamid Abou Zeid (leader of the other al
Qaeda group that was long based in these mountains.
Al Qaeda later said
Belmokhtar was still alive but offered no proof. The loss of Belmokhtar would
be a major blow to al Qaeda morale as Belmokhtar had a reputation for always
escaping the many efforts to kill or capture him. When a legend dies, it is
always demoralizing for the followers. The supreme leader of al Qaeda in North
Africa (Abdel Malek Droukdel) is believed to be still hiding out
in northern Algeria
and he would be the one to appoint a successor to Belmokhtar, who was number
two or three in the North African al Qaeda organization. There has been no such
announcement yet.
The battle that got the two al Qaeda leaders cost the lives
of 13 Chadian troops and over 40 other Islamic terrorists.
The U.S.
announced that it had set up a UAV and intelligence base in nearby Niger.
About a hundred American troops were there to maintain several Reaper UAVs.
February 21, 2013: Two
suicide car bombers attempted to attack a French camp outside the northern town
of Tessalit. In addition to the
bombers, three others were killed.
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