Rafale hammers the islamist terrorist groups in Mali

[SajeevJino]

Is French get additional support from US like Fighters and Marines and Attack Helo's

Its quite a bit more than that.... add

3 more tankers, 6 more M2000, another Gazelle squadron, a butt load of transports and 3 Atlantique 2s.

As French-backed Malian troops pushed
north, retaking the town of Konna Friday,
a French envoy said Mali's Islamist rebels
were "well-armed, well-equipped, well-
trained and determined."


French and Malian troops on Friday took Konna, a key town 700 km from Bamako.

French troops in Mali now at 1,800,
with eventual deployment of 2,500.


US agrees to French request for help
airlifting troops and equipment.


100 Togolese troops arrive in Bamako.
Nigerian and Chadian forces en route.


Malian army claims to have retaken
"total control" of the city of Konna.


France's Hollande calls war in Mali
"necessary" and "legitimate".


Ground troops in Mali:


France has deployed 2,500 troops to
Mali.

African troop deployments:

Some 3,300 troops will be deployed to
Mali from members of regional bloc
ECOWAS, including soldiers from Togo,
Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Senegal
and Burkina Faso. Some 100 Togolese
troops have already arrived in Bamako;
contingents of 2,000 Chadian and 1,200
Nigerian soldiers are en route.


Air support:


France has deployed 12 fighter jets, five
refuelling planes and five C130 or C16
transport planes to provide air support.



mobile.france24.com/en/20130118-french-army-mali-islamists-better-equipped

 

[maomao]

A long documentary in French; however captions can be selected in English! MUST Watch!!!

 

[Armand2REP]

Is French get additional support from US like Fighters and Marines and Attack Helo's

We aren't actually getting any support from the US. Our drone request has not been answered and we are only leasing their airlift at a cost of $20 million.

 

[Yusuf]

@Armand2REP a couple of years ago you were saying the French forces could easily take the Indian Andaman Islands. Your country is not able to insert troops without US help into Mali. What's going on?

 

[Armand2REP]

@Armand2REP a couple of years ago you were saying the French forces could easily take the Indian Andaman Islands. Your country is not able to insert troops without US help into Mali.

Paying $20 million for air lift capacity isn't "getting help." What's going on is A400M hasn't arrived. We have a third of our tankers supporting flight operations which doesn't cover more transports. With A400M and MRTT, we won't have to worry about this nonsense again. Mali is landlocked, Andaman islands are not. Mistral can't contribute here.

 

[ice berg]

Paying $20 million for air lift capacity isn't "getting help." What's going on is A400M hasn't arrived. We have a third of our tankers supporting flight operations which doesn't cover more transports. With A400M and MRTT, we won't have to worry about this nonsense again. Mali is landlocked, Andaman islands are not. Mistral can't contribute here.

You pay others because you couldnt do it on your own. Period. No need to dance away from that.

 

[DivineHeretic]

Paying $20 million for air lift capacity isn't "getting help." What's going on is A400M hasn't arrived. We have a third of our tankers supporting flight operations which doesn't cover more transports. With A400M and MRTT, we won't have to worry about this nonsense again. Mali is landlocked, Andaman islands are not. Mistral can't contribute here.

It isnt exactly comforting to have 33% of your tanker capability and by extension, a good part of your long range, long endurance patrol/combat capability bogged down in taking on a meek force. It shows the pressure on maintaining logistics and combat availability of the french Air force is pretty high, even for a region relatively near the french mainland.

Attempting to take on a professional force half a world away isnt your cup of coffee, Sire. Especially when very little precious capability is available to provide CAS/Air support both simultaneously against a larger force with better logistics. Mistrals with amphibious forces and everything else could theretically surprise and take over a cluster of islands in A&N. But how do you intend to keep the supply lines open? And more importantly from where do you imagine flying your logistics transports from?
You should prefer your soldiers learn to eat grass before embarking on this one way ticket. Colonial era has long come to pass. Mistaking calm elephants for gentle giants would not bode well for either of us.

 

[Armand2REP]

That's why we have ordered 50 A400M and 14 MRTT. They will solve all of these issues.

 

[Armand2REP]

You pay others because you couldnt do it on your own. Period. No need to dance away from that.

Please, you couldn't support one regiment there much less wage a war.

 

[Armand2REP]

Some of the aftermath of Diabali air strikes after rebels were defeated...

 

[SajeevJino]

Russia Offers Help to Transport French Troops to Mali


French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius said Moscow has offered its
help to Paris in transporting French
troops and supplies to crisis-hit Mali.


"The Russians have proposed to
provide means of transport for the
French," Fabius said in the interview
with Europe 1 radio on Sunday.


en.rian.ru/russia/20130120/178905852/Russia-Offers-Help-to-Transport-French-Troops-to-Mali.html




–---------—----------
Free of Cost I think Instead of US plane on Rental

 

[Armand2REP]

Russia Offers Help to Transport French Troops to Mali


French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius said Moscow has offered its
help to Paris in transporting French
troops and supplies to crisis-hit Mali.


"The Russians have proposed to
provide means of transport for the
French," Fabius said in the interview
with Europe 1 radio on Sunday.


en.rian.ru/russia/20130120/178905852/Russia-Offers-Help-to-Transport-French-Troops-to-Mali.html

–---------—----------
Free of Cost I think Instead of US plane on Rental

Its a little late now, we already transported them. We can always use supplies though.

 

[Neil]

French Soldier Wearing Skeleton Mask In Mali Sparks Controversy

The image has been shared countless times on Twitter and even drew a response from high up in the French army.
On Jan. 20, photographer Issouf Sanogo snapped a hallucinant photo of a French soldier in Niono, Mali, wearing goggles and a black mask depicting a grinning skeleton -- an image that reminded many of Ghost, a character from the video game "Call of Duty," AFP notes. French military commanders reacted furiously to the photo. According to RTL, army spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard called the soldier's behavior "unacceptable" and stressed that the image was "not representative of France's action in Mali."SlateAfrique reported that the French military had opened an investigation into the incident and was determined to discover the identity of the soldier.
Yet in a blog post for AFP, Issouf Sanogo said he was surprised by the media storm. Recounting the events of that day in Niono, the photographer reveals that his shot may be not nearly as shocking as initially thought.

Sanogo writes:

I found myself alongside French troops stationed on some wasteland near the Niono prefecture. A helicopter was coming in to land and churning up tremendous dust clouds. Instinctively, all the soldiers grabbed their scarfs to avoid getting a mouthful of sand. It was evening, and rays of sunlight were pushing through the trees and into the dust clouds. It was a lovely light. I spotted this soldier wearing a strange scarf and took the photo. At the time, nothing about the scene seemed especially unusual or shocking. The soldier wasn't posing and there was nothing staged about the image. He was just standing there, protecting his face from the dust, waiting for the chopper to land. No one tried to stop me shooting the picture.

French Soldier Wearing Skeleton Mask In Mali Sparks Controversy (PHOTO)

 

[SajeevJino]

Should they gives Sentence to the Soldier for this Soldier also you are on the list of International Media @Armand2REP for your Profile picture

war crime by French man

 

[IBSA]

Should they gives Sentence to the Soldier for this Soldier also you are on the list of International Media @Armand2REP for your Profile picture

war crime by French man

Yes, I think that guy is Armand2REP too. He is now fighting among the dust of desert, and during rare free times acess the DFI to post fresh news of war.

@Armand2REP, how many terrorists you has killed ever since?

 

[Armand2REP]

France Deploys Heavy Units Aboard Dixmude

[video=dailymotion;xwyyri]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xwyyri_operation-serval-appareillage-du-bpc-dixmude_news#.UQAzUyfBHfE[/video]

 

[Dovah]

Ghost!! Ftw!!

 

[asianobserve]

French Soldier Wearing Skeleton Mask In Mali Sparks Controversy

The image has been shared countless times on Twitter and even drew a response from high up in the French army.
On Jan. 20, photographer Issouf Sanogo snapped a hallucinant photo of a French soldier in Niono, Mali, wearing goggles and a black mask depicting a grinning skeleton -- an image that reminded many of Ghost, a character from the video game "Call of Duty," AFP notes. French military commanders reacted furiously to the photo. According to RTL, army spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard called the soldier's behavior "unacceptable" and stressed that the image was "not representative of France's action in Mali."SlateAfrique reported that the French military had opened an investigation into the incident and was determined to discover the identity of the soldier.
Yet in a blog post for AFP, Issouf Sanogo said he was surprised by the media storm. Recounting the events of that day in Niono, the photographer reveals that his shot may be not nearly as shocking as initially thought.

Sanogo writes:



French Soldier Wearing Skeleton Mask In Mali Sparks Controversy (PHOTO)

Good psychological warfare if you ask me... "Death is descending upon you so run while you can!"

 

[K Factor]

Mali conflict: Army probes summary executions claim

The Malian army says it is investigating allegations that soldiers have carried out summary executions in the Islamist-controlled north. A senior military officer told the BBC it was neither confirming nor denying such acts had taken place. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has accused Malian troops of killing Arabs and ethnic Tuaregs.

In a separate development, one of the main groups fighting in northern Mali said it had split and wanted dialogue. The Islamic Movement for Azawad (IMA) announced on Thursday that it was breaking away from Ansar Dine, and "rejected all forms of extremism and terrorism". According to the statement, the faction is headed by Alghabass Ag Intalla, an important Ansar Dine leader and influential figure in Kidal. It said the group was made up entirely of Malians, who wanted a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

'Buried hastily'
The Malian army initially rejected the allegations of soldiers summarily killing people as "completely false". But on Thursday, an unnamed senior officer in Mopti - one of the areas where the executions are alleged to have taken place - told the BBC's Mark Doyle that an investigation team was looking into the claims.

Some of the alleged executions were carried out in the Mopti area, a town which is strategically vital because it has a large military airport nearby, one of only a few in Mali capable of taking large transport planes. Reports have suggested that mainly black African Malian troops, drawn largely from the south, are targeting Arabs and ethnic Tuaregs in frontline towns.

The Paris-based FIDH has called for an independent investigation into the alleged abuses and said that those responsible should be punished. In the garrison town of Sevare, at least seven people were executed at a military camp, near a bus station and a hospital, the organisation said. There was "credible information" pointing to 20 other executions in Sevare, with bodies "buried hastily, notably in wells".

Some of the victims were accused of possessing weapons, and of being "infiltrators" and "accomplices" of the militants, the FIDH said. Others were killed because they did not have identity documents or simply because of their ethnicity, it added. The killings expose a racial aspect to the war in Mali, which has been hidden by the emphasis on western troops fighting a war against Islamist insurgents, our correspondent says.

France intervened militarily on 11 January to halt a militant advance. It said al-Qaeda linked Islamists - some of whom were foreigners - threatened to turn Mali into a "terrorist state". It has bombed suspected rebel positions and deployed about 2,000 troops to help the weak Malian army recapture territory.

The United Nations refugee agency said 7,100 civilians had fled to neighbouring countries since 10 January to escape fighting.

Well, in my opinion, since it is not an official war, the concept of POW and Geneva Convention's applicability does not arise here. When foreign (arab) mercenaries are fighting in this, they should be mentally prepared for this since they themselves do not hesitate to take actions like these.

 

[Armand2REP]

Well, in my opinion, since it is not an official war, the concept of POW and Geneva Convention's applicability does not arise here. When foreign (arab) mercenaries are fighting in this, they should be mentally prepared for this since they themselves do not hesitate to take actions like these.

It is an African Muslim nation... is anyone surprised?