Weekly update and resources

  • France will not apologise for colonising Algeria although President Macron believes it was a crime against humanity.

Read more on The Times

  • French President Emmanuel Macron has signalled intention to reduce the 5,100-strong French military force fighting jihadis in the Sahel & sub-Saharan Africa.

Read more on The Financial Times

  • Algerian soldiers fired high-calibre rounds as part of an operation against the persistent threat of Islamist militants

Read more on Africanews.com

  • 300 British troops begin missions in Mali, as part of UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA

Read more on The Independent

 

France’s War in the Sahel and the Evolution of Counter-Insurgency Doctrine

Michael Shurkin, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, documents the evolution of French counterinsurgency (COIN) practices and doctrines from 19th-century colonial operations & the Cold War to present day Operation Barkhane, which began in 2014. He argues that the French military is currently limiting itself to focusing on security in the anticipation that others will do the political work.

Read more on Texas National Security Review