The military spokesman said “four terrorists have been captured”. (Representative)
Bamako, Mali:
The French government said on Monday that its forces killed more than 50 jihadists aligned with Al Qaeda in airstrikes in central Mali.
The offensive took place on Friday in an area near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, where government troops are fighting to end an Islamic insurgency, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said after meeting with members of the government transition from Mali.
“On October 30 in Mali, the Barkhane force carried out an operation that neutralized more than 50 jihadists and confiscated weapons and equipment,” Parly said, referring to the French-led anti-jihadist operation Barkhane.
She added that around 30 motorcycles had been destroyed.
Parly, who earlier met Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou and his Nigerien counterpart Issoufou Katambe before traveling to Bamako, said the operation was launched after a drone detected a “very large” motorbike caravan in the “three borders” area.
When the jihadists moved under the trees to try to escape surveillance, French forces sent two Mirage jets and a drone to launch missiles, which led to the “neutralization” of the insurgents, Parly said.
Military spokesman Colonel Frédéric Barbry said “four terrorists have been captured”.
Explosives and an anti-suicide vest were found, he told reporters on a conference call, saying the group was “about to attack a (army) position in the area. 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 troops.
The results of the operation, launched about a month ago, will be announced in the coming days, he said.
Important blow
Parly said the action dealt a “blow” to the Ansarul Islam group which she said was linked to Al Qaeda through the GSIM alliance led by Iyad Ag Ghaly.
Ghaly has become one of the main jihadist leaders in the Sahel since the death of Qaeda commander Abdelmalek Droukdel, killed by French forces in Mali in June.
The UN 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 is struggling to contain a brutal jihadist insurgency that first emerged in the north of the country in 2012, overtaking a rebellion by predominantly ethnic Tuareg separatists.
The former colonial power, France, launched a military operation to push back the Islamists in 2013, but the fighting spread to central Mali, as well as to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, killing thousands and thousands of people. hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes.
Large swathes of Mali escape effective government control. Frustration over the seemingly endless conflict contributed to mass protests against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita this year, which culminated in his ouster in a military coup on August 18.
Many analysts say that engaging in dialogue with jihadists is one of the few ways out of the cycle of violence in Mali, and Bamako government leaders increasingly view this option favorably.
Mali’s new interim government, which has been in power for 18 months before elections are held, appears ready to engage in dialogue.
Last month, he secured the release of four hostages held by Islamist groups – including Sophie Petronin, 75, the world‘s last French hostage – in exchange for around 200 prisoners, some of whom were believed to have been jihadists.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
