| Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War on Terrorism (Insurgency in the Maghreb) | |||||||
A United States special forces NCO watches weapons marksmanship training for a member of a Malian counter-terrorism unit in December 2010[1] |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States United Kingdom Algeria Chad Morocco Niger Mauritania Mali Senegal Supported By: Spain[2] France[3] Canada [4] |
al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Barack Obama George W. Bush Idriss Deby Ahmed Ouyahia |
Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud Mokhtar Belmokhtar[5] Tiyib Ould Sidi Ali (KIA)[6] Athmane Touati [7] Winan Bin Yousef (POW)[8] |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 480 Americans; 250 Algerians; 200 Chadians; 20 Moroccans; 5 Nigerien; 3 Mauritanians; 1 Malian; 25 Senegalese medical doctors Total: 959 troops and 25 medical doctors |
400-4,000[9] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 US serviceman in Mali[10] | 261+ militants killed[11] 303 non combat deaths[12] [13] |
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Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS) is the name of the military operation conducted by the United States and partner nations in the Sahara/Sahel region of Africa, consisting of counterterrorism efforts and policing of arms and drug trafficking across central Africa. It is part of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).
Joint Task Force Aztec Silence (JTF Aztec Silence) is the combined arms organization assigned to implement the missions and meet the goals of OEF-TS. The JTF has been part of United States European Command (EUCOM). As of September 2007, with the announcement of the new United States Africa Command, the mission will fall under the responsibility of Africa Command.[16]
The Congress approved $500 million for the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative (TSCTI) over six years to support countries involved in counterterrorism against alleged threats of Al Qaeda operating in African countries, primarily Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Nigeria, and Morocco.[17] This program builds upon the former Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI), which concluded in December 2004[18] and focused on weapon and drug trafficking, as well as counterterrorism.[19] TSCTI has both military and non-military components to it. OEF-TS is the military component of the program. Civil affairs elements include USAID educational efforts, airport security, Department of the Treasury, and State Department efforts.[20]
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On 12 September while delivering food to Malian troops a US C-130 cargo plane was struck by machine gun rounds from suspected Tuareg rebels, no one was injured and the plane made it safely to its destination. So far, over 100 al-Qaeda militants have been killed by hostile conditions and 263 by non-hostile conditions in the Sahara Desert. On 20 September 2007 two military jeeps believed to be the militants' were destroyed by Chadian troops near the Algerian border.[21]
On 24 August 2010, a militant tried to ram a 4x4 packed with explosives into a Mauritanian Army base but was killed when gunfire from Mauritanian troops destroyed the vehicle.[22] Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was the target of an assassination attempt on 2 February 2011 that the AQIM claimed responsibility for, but Mauritanian soldiers foiled the plot in a firefight, resulting in the deaths of 3 militants, with 8 soldiers wounded.[23] On 5 July, Al-Qaeda claimed that they had killed 20 Mauritanian soldiers, but the government responded by saying that they had killed 15 militants, with 2 government soldiers being killed.[24] The Mauritanian Military later said on 8 July that they had killed 10 Al-Qaeda fighters in an attack on an army base.[25]
On 26 July, Al-Qaeda announced that they killed 78 year old French hostage Micheal Germaneau after a joint French-Mauritanian raid that resulted in the deaths of 6 Al-Qaeda militants.[26] In a separate incident on 8 January, at least 4 armed militants kidnapped 2 French citizens in Niger.[27] French military forces later killed all of the abductors, but the 2 hostages were killed.[28] Winan Bin Yousef, a prominent leader leading those responsible of Germaneau's killing, was arrested on 8 November.[29] Al-Qaeda also announced that it had killed 29 members of Algerian Security Forces between July and August 2011, including 18 in twin suicide bombings.[30] On 26 August, 1 suicide car bomber linked to Al-Qaeda drove his sedan into the UN headquarters in Nigeria, killing 18.[31] In response to the suicide bombing, 6 Al-Qaeda linked bombers were arrested in northern Nigeria on 6 September 2011.[32]
By the 5 August, Al-Qaeda fled its training camps after 1,000 Mauritanian and Mali soldiers launched a military offensive that led to the deaths of 25 militants and 2 Mauritanians,[33] though there were reports of Al-Qaeda training camps in Nigeria on the 8 September. Among the recruits believed to be trained at these camps are Black Africans, instead of Arabs.[34] One such Al-Qaeda facility in Nigeria was a bomb-making factory discovered by Nigerian Authorities, leading to the arrest of 1 person.[35]
Niger attacked a four vehicle convoy, destroying 1 vehicle and killing 3 Al-Qaeda militants on the 15 September, with 1 Nigerien killed. In addition, Niger troops freed 59 youths who had been forcibly recruited and seized numerous RPG-7 and AK-47 weapons, as well as one of the vehicles.[36][37] The Niger Defense Minister also said that a similar clash occurred on the 3 September, resulting in the deaths of 3 Al-Qaeda, and 1 Nigerien as well.[38] On 23 September, Morocco detained 4 Al-Qaeda militants, who were planning attacks inside the country.[39] Another cell was soon dismantled on 1 October.[40]
On 23 October, the Mauritanian Military announced that they had killed top Al-Qaeda leader Tiyib Ould Sidi Ali, an Algerian-born terrorist wanted for a failed bombing plot on the capital, in an air raid.[41]
Following the Libyan Revolution, smugglers were reported to have tried to obtain left-over weapons caches for various groups, including AQIM. The Nigerien Army intercepted one such convoy in early November, killing 13 smugglers, arresting 35, and seized a large cache of weapons, while one soldier died in the clash.[42] Mokhtar Belmokhtar, one of AQIM's top leaders confirmed that his group had obtained Libyan weapons, but denied reports that Al-Qaeda had a presence in Libya.[5] Belmokhtar also denied that AQIM takes part in drug trafficking and claimed that Al-Qaeda was the greatest benefactor of the Arab Spring revolutions.[5] However, Oumar Issa, who was arrested in 2009 with 2 other Malians, plead guilty 6 days after Belmokhtar's statement to charges of trafficking drugs for Al-Qaeda and FARC.[43]
Similar to a strategy introduced by Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda has attempted to win over the support of African villagers.[44] Militants have acted in a friendly manner towards villagers and prescribe medicine to ill people. In addition, the militants pay villagers in exchange for basic services and hand out candy to children.[44] Although the organization as a whole is in disarray, AQIM has tripled in size since 2006.[44]
Canada deployed teams of less than 15 CSOR members to Mali throughout 2011 to aid in Mali's fight with AQIM.[4] Although the special forces will not engage in combat, they will train the Malian military in basic soldiering. Areas include communications, planning, first aid, and providing aid to the general populace.[4]