French Special Forces operating in Libya and Mali

The principle of military action against AQIM (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) is now established. The capitals of countries are actively working to develop a politico-military scenario intended to rid the region of the terrorist threat. Because that is targeted by AQIM , France is at the forefront of future operation, which will be composed of the backbone forces of ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West Africa.

Bogged down in Afghanistan for over ten years, the victims of strokes plane strain their budget numbers, the French armies were warned that their participation in overseas operations now limited to a multilateral framework. The colonial past of France and the threat that weigh on the lives of the hostages if Paris was at the forefront in the Sahel also call for moderation. “We just want to have a facilitating role. No question of sending ground troops, “said a French diplomat. The Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, promised a “logistical support” to help resolve the crisis.

French Special Forces in the region

But France is getting impatient. One hundred members of French Special Forces have been deployed in the region. They should soon be strengthened, in particular by the commandos of the French Navy. French aid also includes maritime patrol aircraft, who gather intelligence and surveillance system based in Niger. According to the hypotheses, notably in Paris, it would form an action force of a few hundred men to reconquer northern Mali, held for several months by armed Islamist groups.

A core group of 40 men, a first circle 200 to 400 men and footmen from 3000 to 4000 that men are Islamist. “This is not the Russian campaign,” says one expert dossier. “They are actually quite few. A thousand men occupies part of a state that no longer existed, “he says. The operation should not be limited to “give a kick in the anthill then go, warns an expert on the issue. Must be entered in the action duration, otherwise the problem will resurface six months later. ”

According to the daily El Khabar, an Algerian newspaper knowledgeable about security issues, the result of French Special Forces African military in Libya. “This is not information that surprises me. The French interests in the region, as Libya to Niger. Intervention but requires caution and tact due to entangling alliances uncertain actors and influence of foreign powers who have their own agenda, “said Liess Boukra, the former director of the ACSRT a Centre for the Study of Terrorism based in Algiers.

Algeria, which is to keep the pressure on terrorism outside its borders – and if possible to push towards sub-Saharan Africa – rejects any interference in the Sahel. This position does not prevent maintaining links with some ambiguous protagonists of the crisis, as the Islamist Ansar Dine Tuareg who control Kidal, one of the major cities of northern Mali. “There is something in the attitude trouble Algiers,” says a French diplomat.

Chadians in ambush

The French could be strengthened to address the shortcomings of the African Standby Force. Niger has announced its intention to provide troops and Burkina Faso and Senegal could follow. Reinforcements from Chad, a country where France has military bases could actively participate in the operation. But Chadian fighters, hardened in combat in the desert, scare their neighbors because of their reputation of soldiers uncontrollable.

For their part, Malians are divided and destroyed their army. Now, everyone knows that ECOWAS can hardly play more than a “buffer role” in this case, in the words of a diplomat. “His military capabilities are limited. ECOWAS will never be able to form the core of the intervention. ”

To support Africans, Britain has sided with France. Between the two countries’ cooperation is excellent, “says an officer. Germans and Poles have pledged support intelligence. Italians and Spaniards, their political contest. The Russians were assured that they not block the Security Council of the UN an operation in the fight against international terrorism. The Chinese seem to share this view. As for the Americans, they have offered their support, including intelligence, while denying the leading role.

Several steps are difficult to negotiate, must still be completed before the start of the operation. Acting President Traoré Dioncounda asked ECOWAS to help Mali to restore its territorial integrity. An agreement on the conditions for the deployment of an African peacekeeping force, with headquarters in Bamako, was found Sunday. If Malians refuse any deployment of foreign forces in the South, Bamako gave a discreet green light to reconquer the North. A special envoy for the Sahel will be appointed. The name of the Gabonese diplomat Jean Ping is mentioned. Its role would be to involve the African Union (AU) folder.

Source: Le Figaro

Sudan rejects US bid to send special forces: official

Smoke billows from the US embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. By (AFP/File)

Sudan has rejected a US request to send special forces to protect its Khartoum embassy after violent protests against an American-made video mocking Islam, the official SUNA news agency said.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti said Sudan was capable of "protecting its guests in diplomatic representations," SUNA quoted a ministry official as saying.

The United States had made the request to send special forces Friday.

US officials said Saturday that they were still monitoring the situation and that Sudan has "recommitted itself both publicly and privately to continue to protect our mission."

"We have requested additional security precautions as a result of yesterday's damage to our embassy. We are continuing to monitor the situation closely to ensure we have what we need to protect our people and facility," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

The Pentagon has indicated that it is examining the possibility of sending Marines to Sudan after deploying them in Yemen and Libya, where ambassador Chris Stevens was among four Americans killed in an attack on a US consulate on Tuesday.

The violence broke out during protests against an amateur Internet film produced on US soil that denigrates Islam and its Prophet Mohammed.

Source

Octave Fusion (2012)

In a mission codenamed Octave Fusion, on January 24, 2012, SEAL Team Six successfully rescued an American woman and a Danish man who had been detained by Somali bandits in north-central Somalia. 

Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, had been abducted around the area of Galkayo three months earlier while working as aid workers helping to remove land mines. Officials stated said plans for a rescue operation had been under development for weeks, but acted after discovering that Buchanan's health was deteriorating due to an undisclosed illness.

The special operations forces were prepared to capture the hostage takers but this proved unfeasible as nine "heavily armed" kidnappers were killed. The SEALs parachuted at night before advancing two miles to the enemy compound on foot. After securing the safety of Thisted and Buchanan the team, which suffered no injuries, was extracted by helicopter.

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Exercise Promotes US-Guyana Spec Ops Capabilities

WASHINGTON, DC – A special operations exercise under way in Guyana is enhancing capabilities of both U.S. and Guyanese special operators and ensuring they have a foundation to respond together in the event of a common threat.

Exercise Fused Response kicked off March 1 and continues through March 9, bringing together about 300 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines with about 200 members of the Guyana Defense Forces, Navy Lt. Cdr. Ron Ralls, the lead planner, told American Forces Press Service.

The bilateral exercise, the largest of its kind in the Western hemisphere and with Guyana’s military this year, includes both field training and command post components. A full schedule of combined and joint training focuses heavily on communications, staff planning, reconnaissance and other military skills.

The goal, Ralls explained, is to develop better understanding about how the two countries’ forces operate so they can share best practices and, if required, work together more seamlessly.

“We have been training and doing exercises with the Guyana Defense Forces for many years, but this is the first time we have had an exercise of this scope with them,” he said. “It increases our ability to work with each other [and] know each other’s capabilities, which enhances our ability to work together in any circumstance.”

That ability is critical, he said, in standing up to what’s recognized as the paramount threat in the region: transnational organized crime and illicit trafficking of drugs, humans and other contraband.

“This is a threat to everyone,” Ralls said, noting that the criminals involved and operate without regard to national borders or legal constraints.

In contrast, the regional nations striving to stand up to these threats are far less resourced, he noted. “So it’s a pretty daunting challenge when the criminal organization has more influence than the country that is trying to fight it,” he said.

Recognizing that transnational challenges require international cooperation, planners view exercises like Fused Response as an opportunity to build capability within partner nations’ defense forces and, in some cases, their law enforcement agencies.

“Enhancing their capability goes a long way toward the overall goal of trying to reduce or stop these organizations from being able to operate freely,” Ralls said. “It ensures that for any threat they may go up against, they will be more efficient and better prepared.”

The exercise is part of U.S. Southern Command’s ongoing effort to build and sustain enduring partnerships in the region. These engagements, some bilateral and some multilateral, include personnel exchanges, exercises and senior-level forums that address broad, strategic issues.

“Fused Response 2012 … reflects a broad and continuing United States commitment to military and civilian engagement to promote peace and prosperity in the Americas,” said U.S. Ambassador D. Brent Hardt at a press conference in Guyana just before the exercise kicked off. “We maintain cooperative relations with our partners in the region to enhance regional security and cooperation.

“Through operations such as Fused Response, as well as through an array of training and exchange programs,” Hardt continued, “the United States is actively engaged to build the capacity of -- and learn from -- our partners and allies so that individually and collectively we can better protect our citizenry and enhance regional security.”

Ralls said it’s gratifying during Fused Response to see participants become increasingly comfortable with each other and forge friendships that continue long after the exercise concludes.

“Ultimately, these engagements build rapport between U.S. forces and the partner nations’ forces,” he said. “As this takes place, you see them get to know each other, begin building relationships and come together as a more effective team.”

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US expanding secret spy bases in Africa

Washington - The United States military is expanding a secret network of air bases across Africa in order to spy on al-Qaeda and other militant groups, the Washington Post reported late on Wednesday.

The surveillance is carried out by small, unmarked turboprop aircraft with hidden state-of-the-art sensors that fly thousands of kilometres between air bases and bush landing strips across the vast continent, it said.

The programme, dating back to 2007, underscores the massive expansion of US special forces operations in recent years and the steady militarisation of intelligence operations during the decade-long war on al-Qaeda.

Bases in Burkina Faso and Mauritania are used to spy on al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), while bases in Uganda are used in the hunt for the Lord's Resistance Army, a brutal guerrilla movement led by Joseph Kony, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

The Post said there were plans to open another base in South Sudan to help hunt for Kony, who is wanted in connection with a series of atrocities and operates in some of the most remote and inaccessible parts of central Africa.

In East Africa, US aircraft operating out of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Seychelles archipelago spy on Somalia's Qaeda-inspired al-Shebab militia and have reportedly launched attacks on wanted militants.

Striving to be discreet

The Post said the fleet of surveillance aircraft is made up of single-engine Pilatus PC-12s, small passenger and cargo aircraft manufactured in Switzerland.

The newspaper said one of the secret bases is in a secluded hanger in Ouagadougou, capital of the predominantly Muslim country of Burkina Faso in West Africa.

It said dozens of service members and contractors strive to be discreet, but stand out in the city centre and are appreciated for the business they bring to bars and restaurants.

Burkina Faso's Foreign Minister Djibril Bassole, in an interview with the Post, declined to answer questions about US special forces operations in his country but said he appreciates US security co-operation.

"We need to fight and protect our borders," the Post quoted him as saying. "Once they infiltrate your country, it's very, very difficult to get them out," he said, referring to al-Qaeda.

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