A minute of silence in the French Parliament to remember i 13 French soldiers died in the clash between two helicopters in Mali, lthe news was reported by Euronews.
The military was engaged in an anti-jihadist operation, as reported by the Elysée, specifying that the two aircraft were flying at low altitude. However, now it will be an investigation to clarify the precise circumstances of this tragedy.
The collision between a Tiger attack helicopter and a Cougar helicopter it occurred shortly after darkness had fallen over the Sahel region, where the self-styled Islamic State is still active,
The Army confirmed the discovery of the black boxes of the two helicopters: now they must be analyzed.
Seven of the dead came from the same military base, in Pau, in the Pyrenees, in the south-west of France, where colleagues and family members fell in a painful silence.
Meanwhile, the French president Emmanuel Macron, he expressed "deep sadness ", underlining the courage of all the French soldiers engaged in the African country and their" determination to continue the mission".
Words also shared by the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who in front of the parliamentarians of the National Assembly, stressed that the use of the armed forces always has a political value, must correspond to the objectives set and must correspond to the interests of France. Interests that are defined by governments and the President of the Republic. It is a very long struggle, which not only has a military dimension ", "Without a military presence, without the ability to face the enemy, without the ability to destabilize its routes, weapons, hiding places, meetings, we cannot guarantee the essential work of political stabilization and economic development in Mali".
The father of one of the victims expresses his pride for his son Romain: who died - says the father - doing a job he loved. Philippe Salles: "I knew there could be a risk. I knew he could actually risk his life. It was his job, he liked it".
The "Barkhane" operation is currently the largest external operation of the French army with around 4.500 soldiers deployed in the Sahelo-Saharan belt, an area the size of Europe. The military operates in support of national armies fighting against jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State group or al-Qaeda. Barkhane succeeded 2014 in August in another operation, called Serval, launched in 2013. In total 38 French soldiers lost their lives during both (ten during Serval and 28 during Barkhane). It was over 30 years that the French army did not suffer such a heavy toll of blood, from Drakkar's attack in Lebanon of the 1983, when 58 paratroopers lost their lives.
The Sahel is today one of the most unstable regions on the planet where terrorist movements, extremist criminal organizations and territorial wars destabilize already fragile and uncertain balances. Jihadist-style terrorism, born as relocation of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, seems to be increasingly cohesive and organized and have a single goal: the destabilization of regional governments.
The birth of Islamic State of the Great Sahara, founded by Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahraoui and recognized by Daesh in October 2016, currently concentrates its forces against the anti-terrorism alliance in the region: the G5-Sahel. This is a regional organization that includes 5 states: Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Mali and Mauritania. Born the 16 February of 2014, it aims to address, through cooperation between these States, the challenges present in the region: illegal trafficking, terrorism, emigration up to climate change, with the aim of fighting mainly the jihadist threat.
Al-Sahraoui has announced that the organization operates mainly in "Zone of the three borders" (Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger) to prevent the stabilization of the G5 Armed Forces, collaborating with the pro-Qaedist movements. "Our brothers Iyad Ag Ghaly and the other mujaheddin defend Islam as", so al-Sahraoui pronounced himself referring to the Tuareg leader of the movement Ansar Dine affiliated with Al Qaeda. The relations between the two jihadist galaxies present in the Sahel are very uncertain but the threat represented by the G5 and international missions may have pushed these two entities to build a common front. The founder himself, before joining the Islamic State, was one of the main exponents of the qaedist jihadist group al-Mourabitun and after his approach to Al Baghdadi was immediately repudiated by Belmokhtar. The Islamic State of the Great Sahara claimed a series of attacks such as the one in October 2017 in Niger that killed 4 American soldiers and 5 Niger soldiers.
The terrorist movements have taken hold in this desert made of sand and empties, in which international actors have intervened with the intention of rebuilding security in the region. In the 2013, with the end of the war in Mali, the United Nations has deployed the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) whose purpose is to support political stabilization in the country, guarantee respect for human rights and the protection of civilians.
The 2364 Resolution extended the mission's mandate until June 2018 with the presence of 13.200 soldiers and 1.920 policemen. With the 2359 Resolution of 21 June 2017, the Security Council approved the creation of the Joint Force FC-G5S, which provides for the deployment of 5.000 men in the area in order to facilitate the achievement of peace and security in the region, in support of the armed forces of the 5 Sahal States.
In the medium term it should represent one exit strategy for the French forces present in the area. The Liptako Gourma Securitization Force, created in January 2017 from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, was integrated into the Joint Force and was later approved by the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) who has agreed on its mandate. The main objectives of the FC-G5S are: to combat terrorism and drug trafficking; contribute to the restoration of state authority and the return of displaced persons and refugees; facilitate humanitarian operations and the provision of aid to affected populations; contribute to the implementation of development strategies in the G5 Sahel region.
It operates mainly in three crucial areas:
- the western area to the border between Mali and Mauritania;
- in the central area ie Liptako Gourma region, also known as the "zone of the three borders" between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where the main terrorist movements act and a greater number of military forces is allocated;
- in the eastern area to the border between Niger and Chad.
The presence of the European Union in the Sahel starting from the 2011 is characterized by a comprehensive approach, the so-called Sahel Strategy, which provides support to the countries of the region in responding to the challenges of security and development. The Sahel Regional Action Plan consists of the implementation of the Sahel Strategy and has four priorities: containing and preventing radicalization; create better living conditions and employment for the younger generations; migration flows; control of illegal trafficking and organized crime.
Subsequently, missions were launched in the 2012 and 2015 Eucap Sahel Niger to support local armed forces in fighting terrorist movements and organized crime e Eucap Sahel Mali to support the central authority in the reconstruction of a constitutional and democratic order together with the EU training mission in Mali (EUTM). Since the 2014, support for the G5 Sahel has been strengthened as a crucial partner in stabilizing the region, allocating 50 million for the G5 Sahel Joint Force. Finally, the 23 last February was held in Brussels at the last Conference on the Sahel to assess the impacts of the interventions on the region and confirm the commitments made as the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa where 8 billion euros were allocated.
The Italian mission in Niger
The Italian military intervention in Niger is part of the broader European and international framework in support of the military and police forces of the G5 Sahel. In January 2018 was approved by the Chamber the decree of military missions, which provides for a reduction in the Italian presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and an increase in the number of operations in Africa, in particular in Libya and Niger, where 400 and 473 soldiers will be present respectively.
Italy operates for the first time in this country and the contingent will support the US and French forces already present in the territory, in order to strengthen control over the borders and on the main migratory routes. It is, therefore, a mission aimed at containing illegal migrations starting from the country of origin that focuses on the area north of Niger on the border with Libya, from where it passes 80% of illegal migratory trafficking to Europe.
The focus on the migration issue of Italy, as well as of France, seems to move ever further south and this is why the presence in Libya and Niger for these two countries is crucial for the purposes of controlling migration flows and the contrast to the illicit trafficking in weapons, drugs and human beings.