France’s latest terror campaign in West Africa aims to rid the region of militants.

After the January 11, 2013 French intervention in northern Mali that flushed out Tuareg rebels and Islamist militants who were threatening to overrun the capital, Bamako, the authorities in Paris are moving on to something bigger. Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, earlier this month explained that ‘Operation Serval’ had largely succeeded in restoring peace in Mali’s turbulent north and it was time to move on to the wider Sahel region.

‘Operation Barkhane’

On the heels of the announcement, French President, François Hollande, visited Chad from July 18-19, 2014, where the new ‘Operation Barkhane’ has its headquarters in the capital, N’Djamena. Operational since August 1, 2014, the new anti-terrorism campaign covers five Sahel countries - Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.

Campaign Objective

Jean-Yves Le Drian explained that ‘Operation Barkhane’ will counter the threat of terrorism in the Sahel where "There is still is a major risk that jihadists will develop in the area that runs from the Horn of Africa to Guinea-Bissau." The aim is to prevent the Sahel from becoming a regrouping ground for jihadist groups from Libya to the Atlantic Ocean, Le Drian pointed out. The goal is therefore to carry out counter-terrorism operations in a largely desert region that includes some of the world’s poorest countries, though rich in minerals and gas. Nipping the activities of a growing number of terrorist and jihad groups in the bud is thus at stake.

Why New Campaign?

Though ‘Operation Serval’ has been hailed in many quarters as a success, it is being ended to shift focus to the wider Sahel region. French authorities have explained that the move was informed by the fact that jihadist cells operating across the borders of different northern African countries still pose a threat, and thus more efforts are needed to neutralise them.

Force Make-up

The 3,000-strong ‘Operation Barkhane’ will be permanent, with headquarters and Air Force in N’Djamena. Some 1,000 soldiers from ‘Operation Serval’ will however remain indefinitely in Gao in northern Mali, down from a peak of over 4,000 in 2013. Their focus will be counter-terrorism operations in the north where there has been resurgence in violence.

Deployment, Equipment

In addition to the 1,000 troops in Mali, some 1,200 men will be stationed in Chad. The remaining 800 soldiers will be split between an intelligence or surveillance base in Niamey, Niger, a bigger permanent base in Côte d’Ivoire, and some Special Forces in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The force will also boast an arsenal comprising 20 helicopters, 200 armoured vehicles, 10 transport aircraft, six fighter planes and three drones.

A Change In Policy

The new emphasis on counter-terrorism reflects shifting French military doctrine in Africa. Six years ago under Nicolas Sarkozy, President Hollande’s predecessor, a defence review concluded that France should concentrate less on bilateral defence ties with former colonies in Africa and instead focus on the “strategic arc” of instability from North Africa to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Gulf. With this in mind, Sarkozy closed one of the three permanent French military garrisons in Sub-Saharan Africa - in Senegal - and opened a new one in Abu Dhabi in the Ubnited Arab Emirates, UAE.

But the threat has grown since the fall of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Focus has also shifted geographically towards a desert “motorway” that reaches from the porous borders of southern Libya through the Sahel down to the Atlantic Ocean. Along it flow arms, drugs, illegal immigrants and jihadists.

France wants to disrupt these networks, which periodically target their citizens for hostage-taking. Hence the new emphasis on a light security force with the capacity to operate fast and flexibly, explains François Heisbourg of the Foundation for Strategic Research, the leading French think-tank on defence and security issues.