Spanningen in Mali

Gestart door jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter), 22/03/2012 | 08:23 uur

dudge

Citaat van: guest1400 op 12/01/2013 | 13:52 uur
zo dat conflict is snel geëscaleerd.

Nooit dat de EU hier hun klauwen aan gaat branden door een EU BG te sturen

Het zou een gelegenheid zijn. Al is wel evident dat dit een lastige inzet is. Want wat zijn precies de doelen van de operatie. ergo, wanneer zijn 'ze' klaar?

Lex

Citaat van: HermanB op 12/01/2013 | 13:08 uur
Piloot omgekomen in Mali (vliegtuig/heli neergehaald?)
Op de Facebook pagina van het Franse leger, wordt gesproken over een Gazelle. Meer bijzonderheden ontbreken.

dudge

Troepen West-Afrikaanse landen naar Mali
ABIDJAN - De West-Afrikaanse economische organisatie Ecowas stuurt troepen naar het noorden van Mali om het regeringsleger te helpen de islamitische rebellen te verdrijven.

De eerste troepen van Ecowas zullen op zijn laatst maandag arriveren, aldus de regering van Ivoorkust zaterdag.
Vrijdag zette Frankrijk een interventiemacht in om het Malinese leger te helpen. Met behulp van de Franse steun konden Malinese strijdkrachten vrijdag de stad Konna heroveren.

Door: ANP

guest1400

zo dat conflict is snel geëscaleerd.

Nooit dat de EU hier hun klauwen aan gaat branden door een EU BG te sturen

HermanB

Slechte dag voor de Fransen. Piloot omgekomen in Mali (vliegtuig/heli neergehaald?) en 2 soldaten + gijzelaar in Somalië. Voorzie ook wel weer rellen van bepaalde bevolkingsgroepen over deze "bemoeienis".

Lex

Citaat van: jurrien visser op 12/01/2013 | 12:08 uur
12 January 2013

French hostage and soldiers die in raid in Somalia
Verkeerde topic?

Lex

Buurlanden sturen troepen naar Mali

Het West-Afrikaanse bondgenootschap Ecowas stuurt troepen naar Mali. In het noorden van Mali vechten islamitische rebellen tegen de regering. Ecowas wil de regering van Mali militair steunen.

Ecowas, waarbij 15 landen uit de regio zijn aangesloten, besloot in november al om 3000 militairen te sturen. Toen werd gezegd dat het nog maanden zou duren voordat de troepen operationeel zouden zijn. Verwacht wordt nu dat ze maandag in het gebied aankomen.

Gisteren begon Frankrijk met aanvallen op de rebellen, die in Noord-Mali de sharia hebben ingevoerd. De stad Konna zou inmiddels zijn heroverd.

NOS.nl,
zaterdag 12 jan 2013, 11:37

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Leger Mali en Fransen rukken op – VS bieden hulp met drones aan

Het Malinese leger heeft dankzij de steun van Franse militairen gisteravond het stadje Konna kunnen heroveren op islamitische rebellen. De VS hebben Frankrijk, dat gisteren bevestigde militair in te grijpen in het land, hulp aangeboden, onder meer door de inzet van drones.

Een luitenant-kolonel van het Malinese regeringsleger zei gisteravond tegen persbureau Reuters dat het leger met behulp van de Franse soldaten Konna had heroverd. Konna ligt op de weg naar Mopti, de laatste grote stad die het leger nog kon gebruiken voor het bevoorraden van de troepen. Als Konna en daarna Mopti waren gevallen, hadden de rebellen kunnen oprukken naar hoofdstad Bamako.

Frankrijk stuurde gisteren soldaten naar voormalig kolonie Mali op verzoek van de in het nauw geraakte interim-president Dioncounda Traoré. Mali gleed vorig jaar weg in politieke chaos, waardoor extremistische organisaties, deels gelieerd aan Al-Qaeda, vaste voet aan grond kregen in het noorden. Vandaar uit zijn zij begonnen aan een opmars naar het zuiden.

VS bieden Fransen drones aan voor surveillance

De VS hebben Frankrijk gisteravond "logistieke steun" aangeboden voor de militaire operatie in Mali. Volgens het Witte Huis is het bestrijden van terrorisme in het land voor de VS en Frankrijk een gezamenlijk doel. De Amerikanen hebben de Fransen volgens persbureau AFP onder meer aangeboden onbemande vliegtuigjes te leveren voor surveillance. Ook mogen Franse gevechtsvliegtuigen bijtanken op Amerikaanse luchtmachtbases in Spanje en Italië.

In een brief aan de VN-Veiligheidsraad riep Frankrijk gisteravond op tot snelle implementatie van resolutie 2085, die het stationeren van een internationale troepenmacht in Mali mogelijk maakt. De VN stemden eind vorige maand in met een militaire interventie in Mali, maar verbond daar wel bepaalde voorwaarden aan. Frankrijk vindt nu dat de situatie sneller ingrijpen toestaat.

http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/01/12/leger-mali-en-fransen-rukken-op-vs-bieden-hulp-met-drones-aan/


jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Mali war escalates as French battle Islamist militants

Published January 12, 2013

Associated Press

BAMAKO, Mali –  With Islamist militants controlling more than half of the northwest African nation of Mali and threatening the rest of government-held territory, France launched airstrikes in a dramatic escalation of the conflict that some observers have called the next Afghanistan. French commandoes also reportedly attacked an Islamist base in Somalia to try to rescue a French hostage.

The raid early Saturday in Somalia could have been aimed at preventing al-Shabab fighters from harming the kidnapped French security official in reprisal for the French military intervention in Mali. A Somali intelligence official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not allowed to discuss the case with the news media, said the raid in Bulomarer killed "several" al-Shabab fighters but he had no information on the hostage.

An al-Shabab official confirmed the fighting and said the group held one dead French soldier. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

However, the office of Col. Thierry Burkhard, the French military's main spokesman for overseas operations, said it had no information about any Somalia action.

French President Francois Hollande said the "terrorist groups, drug traffickers and extremists" in northern Mali "show a brutality that threatens us all." He vowed that the operation would last "as long as necessary."

France said it was taking the action in Mali at the request of President Dioncounda Traore, who declared a state of emergency because of the militants' advance.

The arrival of the French troops in their former colony came a day after the Islamists moved the closest yet toward territory still under government control and fought the Malian military for the first time in months, seizing the strategic city of Konna.

Sanda Abou Moahmed, a spokesman for the Ansar Dine group, condemned Mali's president for seeking military help from its former colonizer.

"While Dioncounda Traore asked for help from France, we ask for guidance from Allah and from other Muslims in our sub-region because this war has become a war against the crusaders," he said by telephone from Timbuktu.

For the past nine months, the Islamic militants have controlled a large swath of northern Mali, a lawless desert region where kidnapping has flourished.

"French armed forces supported Malian units this afternoon to fight against terrorist elements," Hollande said in Paris.

He did not give any details of the operation, other than to say that it was aimed in part at protecting the 6,000 French citizens in Mali, where seven of them already are being held captive.

Saturday's raid in Somalia was swift and loud, local residents said. The Somali intelligence official said the French commandos were trying to rescue a kidnapped military adviser who they were tipped off was being held there. A French security adviser was kidnapped by the militant Islamist group al-Shabab in Mogadishu, the capital, in 2009.

"We heard a series of explosions followed by gunfire just seconds after a helicopter flew over the town," Mohamed Ali, a resident of Bulomarer, told The Associated Press by phone. "We don't know exactly what happened but the place was an al-Shabab base and checkpoint."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius confirmed that in Mali, France had carried out airstrikes. He refused to give details for security reasons.

France is operating helicopter gunships in Mali, two diplomats told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation publicly. French special forces, who have been operating in the region recently, are also believed to be taking part in the military operation, one diplomat said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the AP that Senegal and Nigeria also responded to an appeal from Mali's president for help to counter the militants.

Residents in central Mali said they had seen Western military personnel arriving in the area, with planes landing at a nearby airport throughout the night.

Col. Abdrahmane Baby, a military operations adviser for the foreign affairs ministry, confirmed in the Malian capital of Bamako that French forces had arrived in the country but gave no details.

"They are here to assist the Malian army," he told reporters.

Traore went on national television Friday night to declare the state of emergency, saying it would remain in effect for 10 days and could be renewed.

"The situation on the front is over all under control," he said.

Traore called on mining companies and nongovernment organizations to turn their trucks over to Malian military, raising questions about the army's ability.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. was "deeply concerned" by events in Mali, and that Washington was closely consulting with Paris. She said neither France nor Mali has asked for U.S. military assistance.

France has led a diplomatic push for international action in northern Mali but efforts to get an African-led force together, or to train the weak Malian army, have dragged.

The French quickly mobilized after the Islamists seized the city of Konna on Thursday, pushing closer to the army's major base in central Mali. Late Friday, Malian Lt. Col. Diarran Kone said the government had not been able to recapture the town.

The United Nations Security Council has condemned the capture of Konna and urged U.N. member states to assist Mali "in order to reduce the threat posed by terrorist organizations and associated groups."

Late last year, the 15 nations in West Africa, including Mali, agreed on a proposal for the military to take back the north, and sought backing from the U.N.

The Security Council authorized the intervention but imposed certain conditions. Those include the training of Mali's military, which has been accused of serious human rights abuses since a military coup last year sent the nation into disarray.

The fighting Wednesday and Thursday for Konna represents the first clashes between Malian government forces and the Islamists in nearly a year, since the militants seized the northern cities of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

The Islamists seized the town of Douentza four months ago after brief standoff with a local militia, but pushed no farther until clashes broke out late Wednesday in Konna, a city of 50,000 people, where fearful residents cowered inside their homes. Konna is just 45 miles (70 kilometers) north of the government-held town of Mopti, a strategic port city along the Niger River.

A soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, acknowledged that the army had retreated from Konna. He said several soldiers were killed and wounded, though he did not have precise casualty figures.

Al Qaeda's affiliate in Africa has been a shadowy presence for years in the forests and deserts of Mali, a country hobbled by poverty and a relentless cycle of hunger. Most Malians adhere to a moderate form of Islam.

In recent months, however, the terrorist group and its allies have taken advantage of political instability, taking territory they are using to stock weapons and train forces.

Turbaned fighters control major towns in the north, carrying out amputations in public squares just as the Taliban did. And like in Afghanistan, they are flogging women for not covering up. Since taking control of Timbuktu, they have destroyed seven of the 16 mausoleums listed as world heritage sites.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said his government was taking action because "in recent days, the situation unfortunately deteriorated very seriously."

The delay by the international community in taking action allowed "the terrorist and criminal groups of northern Mali ... to move toward the south with the goal of ... installing a terrorist state."

The Islamists insist they want to impose Shariah only in northern Mali, though there long have been fears they could push farther south. Bamako, the capital, is 435 miles (700 kilometers) from Islamist-held territory.

Hollande said the French government will address parliament on Monday about the operation.

The intervention earned quick, widespread support from leading voices inside France across the political spectrum. Even far right leader Marine Le Pen -- one of the many critics of the unpopular Hollande -- called the Socialist leader's action "legitimate."

France has hundreds of troops across western Africa, with bases or sites in places such as Senegal, Ivory Coast, Chad and Gabon. However, Hollande has said that he wants to create a new relationship with former colonies in Africa.

The operation in Mali is the first military intervention under his leadership, and comes just weeks after he pulled out France's last combat troops out of Afghanistan, ending an increasingly unpopular 11-year presence there.

France was a leading force in the NATO operation against Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's forces in 2011. Also that year, France played a driving role in an international military intervention to oust Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to leave power after disputed elections. Both of those operations were under Hollande's predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/11/french-military-arrives-to-help-mali-government-as-radical-islamists-advance/#ixzz2Hkd2Lttn

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Mali: stad op rebellen heroverd

zaterdag 12 jan 2013

Het regeringsleger van Mali zegt dat het de stad Konna heeft heroverd, die donderdag werd ingenomen door moslimrebellen. Door de herovering is de opmars van de rebellen in de richting van de hoofdstad Bamako gestopt, zegt het leger.

De mededeling over het heroveren van Konna kwam een paar uur nadat Franse militairen in Mali voor het eerst in actie waren gekomen om de regering te helpen. Wat die actie precies inhield, wilde minister Fabius van Buitenlandse Zaken gisteravond niet zeggen.

Staat van beleg

President Hollande zei gisteren dat de Fransen het Malinese leger ondersteunen "zolang dat nodig is". De Malinese president Traoré kondigde kort na de verklaring van Hollande de staat van beleg af. Volgens het Malinese ministerie van Defensie krijgt Mali ook steun van troepen uit Nigeria en Senegal.

Prioriteit heeft nu het verdedigen van de stad Mopti, niet ver van Konna, in het midden van het land. De rebellen, die banden hebben met al-Qaida, hebben het noorden van Mali in handen. Ze willen optrekken naar de hoofdstad Bamako, in het zuiden.

Bron: NOS

Flyguy

Citaat van: Nikehercules op 12/01/2013 | 00:22 uur
De Amerikanen hebben verklaard wellicht steun te leveren in de vorm van inlichtingen en logistiek.
Stil dus in de 'machtige' EU? Kunnen ze niet eens zo'n hypermoderne EU battlegroup inzetten?  :lol:

Nikehercules

Citaat van: Flyguy op 12/01/2013 | 00:11 uur
Al sprake of geruchten van andere eventuele krijgsmachten die gaan helpen?

De Amerikanen hebben verklaard wellicht steun te leveren in de vorm van inlichtingen en logistiek.

Flyguy

Al sprake of geruchten van andere eventuele krijgsmachten die gaan helpen?

Tanker

Stond nog een aardig stukje op trouw.nl van Rob de Wijk over de opkomst en uitbreiding van de macht van aan Al Qaeda gelieerde groeperingen in het Mahgreb gebied (N-Afrika).
Die lui kunnen zo' n beetje doen waar ze zin in hebben momenteel......en dat doen ze dan ook.

Die Arabische lente lijkt meer op een herfst......

Lex

Even een paar berichten uit de Franse kranten, met bijzonderheden:

http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2013/01/11/01003-20130111ARTFIG00557-les-ressortissants-francais-appeles-a-quitter-le-mali.php

Hier is sprake van Duitse eenheden.

http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/monde/20130111.OBS5210/intervention-militaire-au-mali-quels-moyens-la-france-met-elle-en-uvre.html

Special Forces en opsomming Heli's drone en jets in de omgeving.
Gereedstelling: 2ème REP (le régiment étranger de paras, 1.200 pax, Calvi)