French air strikes in Burkina Faso killed 40 militants in an anti-jihadist mission on Thursday, according to the army.
In a statement on Thursday, France’s chiefs of staff said its Operation Barkhane force “engaged its air intelligence capacities to locate” and “neutralise” the armed group responsible for a deadly attack last Tuesday in neighbouring Benin that left a French national dead.
The French victim was amongst nine others killed by two roadside bombs in Benin’s W National Park, a wildlife reserve bordering Niger and Burkina Faso.
Thursday’s operation involved a drone strike on a motorcade of terrorists crossing the border into Burkina Faso, and was followed by attacks from Mirage 2000 fighter jets.
Operation Bharkane has been heavily engaged in anti-insurgent operations in the Sahel region since early 2014. France has deployed roughly 5,000 soldiers, who are permanently headquartered in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad.
The operation also extends its reach to other former French colonies in the Sahel region – namely Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger.
Thierry Burkhard —the Chief of the French Defence Staff— congratulated French military personnel and Burkinabe forces, calling the strike a “demonstration of the good cooperation between our armies in the fight against armed terrorist groups in the Sahel”.
France’s intervention in the Sahel region has faced increasing backlash in recent months.
In November, a 50-strong convoy of French forces en route to Niger was blocked by hundreds of protesters demanding an end to the former colonial ruler's participation in regional conflicts.
Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron decided last year to withdraw French forces from the Sahel region, arguing that France could no longer work with “authorities who decide to talk to groups [islamic militants] which fire on our children”.
"We will put an end to Operation Barkhane in the first quarter of 2022 in an orderly fashion," declared President Macron in July.
Writer: Luc Hillion
Photo Credits: Huffington Post