The current French operation has been running since 2014, co-ordinating on security issues with Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad.<\/p>\n
They are fighting a complex web of jihadist groups that Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou has described as having become “professionals in the art of war”.<\/p>\n
An attack by jihadists on an army base earlier this month led to the deaths of more than 70 soldiers in Niger<\/a>.<\/p>\n In November, 13 French troops died in a helicopter collision during an operation against jihadists in Mali<\/a>, the biggest single loss of life for the French military since the 1980s.<\/p>\n Regional leaders have called for more international support to tackle the militants but there has also been rising anti-French sentiment and protests in some cities in the region.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Niger, there has been a sharp rise in attacks by militants in 2019. And the number of fatalities in neighboring Mali has more than doubled over the past year.<\/p>\n West Africa: Is France losing ground to militants?https:\/\/t.co\/DGXkT0CWTJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Individual-1 (@codename_karla) December 23, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n