Some soldiers wondered if the
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2025 5:54 am
France has several thousand troops covering more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of terrain in the volatile region where the borders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso meet. Alerts about attacks are often missed or dealt with hours later, especially in remote villages. The operations rely heavily on the French air force, which carries out air strikes, transports troops and delivers equipment. The desert is harsh with temperatures reaching nearly 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), exhausting troops and requiring additional maintenance for equipment.
The Associated Press spent the days leading up to Macron’s announcement accompanying the French military to the field, where pilots navigated hostile terrain in total darkness to recover troops after a lengthy operation.
fight was worth it. “What are we doing here anyway?” Asked a soldier after Macron’s announcement. The AP does not use his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Others have recognized that jihadists are a long-term threat. “We are facing something that will last for years. For the next 10 years, you will have terrorists in the region, ” Colonel Yann Malard, commander of the air phone number library base and representative of Operation Barkhane in Niger, told the PA.
The French strategy has been to weaken the jihadists and train local forces to secure their own countries. Since his arrival, he has trained some 18,000 soldiers, mostly Malians, according to a spokesperson for Barkhane, but progress is slow. Most Sahelian states are still too poor and understaffed to provide the security and services that communities desperately need, analysts and activists say.
State forces have also been accused of committing human rights violations against civilians, which has heightened mistrust, said Alex Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati.
The Associated Press spent the days leading up to Macron’s announcement accompanying the French military to the field, where pilots navigated hostile terrain in total darkness to recover troops after a lengthy operation.
fight was worth it. “What are we doing here anyway?” Asked a soldier after Macron’s announcement. The AP does not use his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Others have recognized that jihadists are a long-term threat. “We are facing something that will last for years. For the next 10 years, you will have terrorists in the region, ” Colonel Yann Malard, commander of the air phone number library base and representative of Operation Barkhane in Niger, told the PA.
The French strategy has been to weaken the jihadists and train local forces to secure their own countries. Since his arrival, he has trained some 18,000 soldiers, mostly Malians, according to a spokesperson for Barkhane, but progress is slow. Most Sahelian states are still too poor and understaffed to provide the security and services that communities desperately need, analysts and activists say.
State forces have also been accused of committing human rights violations against civilians, which has heightened mistrust, said Alex Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati.