French and Malian troops seize many weapons in large cache northwestern town of Timbuktu

The Malian forces, supported by their French allies, have discovered a large cache of weapons in the country's northwestern town of Timbuktu. The discovery was unveiled by the public relations director for the Malian army (DIRPA), Souleymane Maiga, and his deputy Souleymane Dembele on Thursday, April 18, 2013.

French and Malian soldiers stand next to cases of ammunition and military equipment.
(Archive image)

Read More

European military instructors have started training of Malian army soldiers

EU forces have started training Malian soldiers to quell an Islamist insurgency in the former French colony. 150 European instructors will train troops from Mali’s army at a base some 60 kilometres from the capital, Bamako.

Members of a Malian pro-government militia operating in government-controlled areas take part in a training session at their base in Sevare, about 600 km (400 miles) northeast of the capital Bamako November 12, 2012.

Read More

French and Malian soldiers have pushed back the rebels who has infiltrated the city of Timbuktu

Malian soldiers backed by French fighter aircraft have battled rebels in Timbuktu after they used a car bomb as cover to infiltrate the northern desert city, sources say. A Malian soldier and three rebel fighters were believed to have been killed in Sunday's fighting in the ancient Saharan trading hub 1,000km north of the capital Bamako.

French army soldiers with armoured vehicles VAB and VBL arrive in the city of Timbuktu to help Malian troops to fight the rebels infiltrated in the city.

Read More

Czech Republic to send 34 soldiers to join French military operations in Mali

The Czech Republic sent a group of 34 military servicemen to Mali to join a military operation against Islamist militants in the north of the country, Czech news agency CTK reported. The senate of the Czech Republic voted on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, to send a contingent of 50 military servicemen to Mali for the term of 15 months. Their mission will officially begin in April.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said his country’s soldiers would be deployed at military bases in Mali.

Read More

Around 200 British army instructors to train soldiers of Malian Armed forces under EU mission

200 British instructors are expected in Mali for the training of local soldiers under the auspices of the European Union Training Mission (EUTM), according to British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague

Read More

Heavy fighting for the French Army in rocky mountains of North Mali against Islamist rebels

The combat of the French Army in rugged Sahara Desert mountains is growing harder, and there's a rising threat that the militants will turn to suicide bombings, hostage-taking and other guerrilla tactics. The French military struck at Islamist militants dug in along the remote, rocky mountain ranges of northern Mali over the last week, killing scores, a French military spokesman said Friday, March 1, 2013.

French soldiers stand guard outside the destroyed main market in Gao, March 2, 2013. French soldiers visited the market on Saturday, nine days after it was destroyed during fighting between radical Islamists and Malian and French soldiers.

Read More Operation Serval French in Mali

A French soldier was killed during intense fighting against Islamist rebels in Mali

A French soldier has died in some of the most intense fighting thus far in the seven-week-old military campaign to push back a jihadist advance in Mali, officials said Sunday, March 3, 2013. Parachutist Corporal Cedric Charenton was killed Saturday night in an assault in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains along the Algerian border, where the jihadists have retrenched as French troops have swept through the country's north.

French troops secure the area where a suicide bomber blew himself up in the northern city of Gao, Mali, February 10, 2013.

Read More

 

Belgian Minister of Defense Peter Crem to visit crews of Belgian helicopter Agusta A-109 in Mali

Tuesday, February 26, 2013, French troops from operation Serval based in Gao has received the visit of Defence Minister of Belgium, Mister Peter De Crem. He was accompanied by the Belgian Chief of Army Staff and a military delegation.

Belgian Minister of Defence Peter De Crem at French military base in Gao, Mali.

Read More

U.S. has deployed drone in Niger to provide intelligence collection to French Forces in Mali

U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday, February 22, 2013, that his country has deployed about 100 military personnel to the West African country of Niger. Obama said the deployment "will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali and with other partners in the region."

An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft prepares for takeoff in support of operations in Southwest Asia. (Credit photo U.S. Air Force)

Read More

A dozen of Chadian soldiers were killed in Mali during fighting against Islamist rebels

More than a dozen Chadian soldiers died Friday, February 22, 2013, in a fighting in northern Mali which also killed 65 al Qaida-linked Islamist rebels, the Chadian army said. The casualties were the heaviest for African and French troops since the start of their military campaign against the Malian rebels, which hold the northern part of the Western African country.

Chadian soldiers hold up their weapons as they cheer next to tanks and army vehicles ahead of their deployment in Mali.

Read More

French Air Force operations continue in Mali with 90 missions in 3 days including 30 air strikes

French Air Force operations continue in Mali with more than 90 missions including nearly thirty dedicated to air strikes and 35 strategic transport missions for the support of ground forces. These air strikes have enabled to destroy several rebel targets.

French Air Force continues operations in Mali with fighter aircraft Mirage 2000D and Rafale.

Read More Operation Serval Mali

French Army takes delivery of first VBCI armoured infantry fighting vehicle FELIN-capable variant

The French army has received the first FELIN-capable variant of its VBCI armored infantry fighting vehicle. The variant specifically supports troops equipped with the FELIN soldier system, enabling them to recharge the batteries of manpack electronic systems for dismounted operations and use those systems from within the troop-carrying vehicle.

The French VBCI 8x8 armoured infantry fighting vehicle is currently deployed with the French Army for the military Operation Serval in Mali.

Read More

First fighting for the french soldiers in Gao against Islamist rebels infiltrated in the city

Black-robed Islamist rebels armed with AK-47 assault rifles infiltrated Gao in wooden boats, Sunday, February 10, 2013, to launch a surprise attack on the most populous city in northern Mali, two weeks after French and Malian troops ousted the jihadists (With Video).

French soldiers secure the evacuation of foreigners during exchanges of fire with jihadists in Gao, northern Mali, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013

Read More

155mmm self-propelled howitzer CAESAR Nexter enters the battle Operation Serval in Mali

French AMX-10RCR 6x6 reconnaissance armoured vehicles and CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzers of French Army have left the city of Niamey, capital of Niger, Thursday, January 31, 2013, to join their operation area in the region of Gao, located more than 400 km of Niamey. French air operations continued with more than 70 missions with about twenty dedicated for air strikes. These air operations have resulted the destruction of five major targets, mainly logistics facilities and training centers in the area Aguelhok.

French forces further increase their firepower in Mali with deployment of 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer CAESAR.

Read More Operation Serval Mali

More than 1,800 Chadian soldiers with French troops in Kidal to secure the city

Some 1,800 Chadian soldiers have entered Kidal, the last major town in northern Mali under rebel control, the French military says. French-led forces captured Kidal's airport last week but have not yet secured the town itself. The French soldiers meanwhile continue control of the airport thanks to the reinforcement of two sections of paratroopers from the 1e RCP (1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment).

French and African soldiers continue to control the area of Niger River and strengthen the military forces in the cities of Timbuktu and Gao.

Read More

French armed forces launched several air strikes in northern Mali to target rebels training centres

French armed forces launched several air strikes, Saturday, February 2, 2013, overnight in the country's northern region which has been in hands of Islamist rebels since 10 months, spokesman for the French army said Sunday, February 3, 2013. Thirty jets targeted Islamist militants' training and communication centres around Tessalit - a mountainous area near the Algerian border.

A French fighter aircraft Rafale take-off for a combat mission over Mali.

Read More Operation Serval Mali

United Kingdom will sent 200 soldiers to Mali in a training role to aid the French Army

United Kingdom will sent about 240 troops to West Africa in a training role to aid the French-led mission against Islamist rebels in Mali, the government confirmed on Tuesday, January 29, 2013.

A handout picture from the British Ministry of Defence shows a French VAB armoured vehicle personnel carrier being unloaded from a British Royal Air Force C-17 transport plane, which landed at Bamako airport, Mali.

Read More

French armed forces have taken the control of the airport in Kidal

According to the website of the radio Voice of Russia, on Tuesday night, January 29, 2013 the French armed forces force in Mali assumed control over the airport of the city of Kidal, which has been under the radical Islamists’ control until recently. This has been confirmed by an official of the Touareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad.

In Timbuktu, a new airborne operation was made with air drop of French soldiers of the 17e RGP (17th Engineer Parachute Regiment), January 29, 2013.

Read More Operation Serval Mali

After the capture of Timbuktu airport France continued to strengthen its military power in Mali

After the capture of the airport of Timbuktu and the city Gao by French armed forces Sunday and Monday, January 28, 2013, the two strategic locations are now strengthened by units of the Malian army. French Special Forces continue to secure the area around the Timbuktu airport to restore air traffic and for the support of ground forces.

French armed forces have seized Mali's desert city of Timbuktu in a lightning advance north as fleeing Islamists.

Read More Operation Serval Mali

French paratroopers of 2e REP Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment were parachuted on Timbuktu

French army spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard has announced, on Monday morning, January 28, 2013, French soldiers of the 2e REP (2nd Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment) were parachuted into strategic points overnight to prepare the way for Malian forces to recapture Timbuktu from Islamist rebels.

French-led troops Saturday seized the airport and a key bridge serving the Islamist stronghold of Gao in a major boost to a 16-day-old offensive to rout Al Qaeda-linked rebels from Mali's sprawling desert north.

Read More Operation Serval Mali