(credit: defense.gouv.fr)  BCH Tanerii MAURI, 1 CL Quentin PAUCHET and 1 CL Dorian ISSAKHANIAN of the 1st Chasseurs regiment of Thierville-sur-Meuse were killed Dec. 28, 2020 in the region of Hombori, Mali.  

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Five French soldiers in France’s Operation Barkhane counter-terror  military campaign in the Africa Sahel  region were killed in just the past two weeks.   About 50  French soldiers have been killed in the Africa Sahel operation since 2014.  France is now reconsidering its military strategy in the violent Sahel and is considering reducing the number of troops deployed in Operation Barhkane, according to the  French defense minister Florence Parly.   The Defense Minister  said France will “very likely” reduce its 5,100 troops in the Sahel region, in an interview to Le Parisien newspaper earlier this week.   President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce a timeframe for the readjustment  of France’s largest international military operation at a summit in Chad’s capital N’Djamena next month.  On Dec. 28, 2020, three French soldiers were killed in operation in Mali  when their armored vehicle was hit by an explosive device in the region of Hombori, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces announced.  During a convoy escort mission, BCH Tanerii MAURI, 1 CL Quentin PAUCHET and 1 CL Dorian ISSAKHANIAN of the 1st Chasseurs regiment of Thierville-sur-Meuse died in the explosion in West Africa nation Mali.  According to the Ministry of Armies, the soldiers were operating in an area where terrorist groups were attacking civilian populations and threatening regional stability.  Then just five days later, two French soldiers were killed in operation around Ménaka in Mali  when their light armored vehicle exploded on contact with an improvised explosive device, according to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. A third soldier was injured.  In  statement, the French Presidency underlined France’s determination to continue the fight against terrorism. 

50  FRENCH SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFRICA SAHEL SINCE  2014

French brigadier-chef Andy Fila died in north-central Africa  Chad on July 31, 2020.   / (Etat Major des Armées)

On Sep. 5, 2020, two French soldiers died after their armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in a military operation in Mali’s northeastern Kidal region.

On Jul. 31, 2020, a French Operation Barkhane soldier was killed in a maintenance operation in north-central Africa nation Chad after a piece of equipment exploded, the defense ministry said. 

1st Class Parachute Hussar Tojohasina Razafintsalama, of the France  1st Parachute Hussar Regiment of Tarbes, died in action Jul. 23, 2020   in Mali. /  Etat Major des Armées

On July, 23, 2020,  Tojohasina Razafintsalama, a  soldier of the French force Barkhane in the west Africa Sahel was killed   in the region of Gossi, in the center of Mali, during fighting against  armed terrorist groups, the Elysee said.    Razafintsalama, 25-years-old,   born in Mahazarivo, Madagasca, was  killed  when an improvised explosive device was triggered next to his armoured vehicle. During the explosion, two other soldiers present in the vehicle, which was on a reconnaissance mission, were also injured, then evacuated in serious condition to the military hospital in Gao before being repatriated in the evening.

In May 2020, a soldier from France’s Foreign Legion died from wounds sustained during in an operation against jihadists in Mali.  The three soldiers killed Monday December 28  brings to 47 the number of soldiers killed from France’s Operation Barkhane in the Sahel region since it first stationed troops there in 2013 to help train and assist local forces against Islamic insurgents.   At the start of 2020,  Barkhane’s strength increased from 4,500 to 5,100 soldiers. Paris hopes this reinforcement will help reverse the balance of power on the ground, where jihadist groups have stepped up attacks in recent months.  Last November 2019, two helicopters collided, killing  13 French soldiers fighting Islamic State group-linked extremists in Mali,   its highest military death toll in nearly four decades.  French Foreign Legion units are  part of France’s Operation Barkhane .   Launched  in 2014, the operation replaced Operation Serval (in Mali, 2013-14) and Operation Épervier (in Chad, 1986-2014). Five  five countries are targeted by Operation Barkhane – Mali, Chad, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso. 

FRANCE  OPERATION   BARKHANE  Deploys 5,100 Troops in SAHEL 

Sources : EMA  /  Rights : France  Ministère de la Défense

La stratégie sahélienne de la France vise à ce que les États partenaires acquièrent la capacité, d’assurer leur sécurité de façon autonome. Elle repose sur une approche globale (politique, sécuritaire et de développement) dont le volet militaire est porté par l’opération Barkhane, conduite par les armées françaises.