Serval, Barkhane, and the new understanding of theatres of operation in the fight against terrorism: the evolution of French military doctrine: a transition towards the management of insurrectionary crises, military medical support and the management of new related risks
Résumé
Since 2013, France has played a leading role in the fight against terrorism in West Africa. Operations Serval (2013-2014) - characterised by a combat brigade, then Barkhane (2014-2022) - characterised by an installation force and increased regional cooperation, have served to block the territorial advance of GATs in the region and to train local military troops. Operation Serval, a combat brigade with an anti-terrorist vocation, is a response to a request for intervention from the Malian authorities in the country. The objectives were clear, the resources deployed substantial and the theatre limited to Mali. Having learnt the lessons of its previous counter-insurgency campaigns, France is applying the COIN doctrine in line with its operational history. Considered a tactical and strategic victory in the retreat of the GATs, the shift from Operation Serval to Operation Barkhane marks the expansion of the theatre of operations to the whole of the Sahel and the international involvement of players. This is a real logistical challenge: supplies, support, command organisation and communications are being deployed in a theatre on an unprecedented scale. The "3D" approach, covering Defence, Diplomacy and Development, is essential. Barkhane's mission is to reduce the terrorist threat to an acceptable level and contain it to enable local troops to regain leadership. The European Union's EUTM mission was designed to train Malian troops. MINUSMA covered the civilian aspect in addition to the training and development effort. But the bogging down of Operation Barkhane highlights the need for a change in military doctrine. Counter-insurgency doctrine may still be called upon, but it must no longer be at the heart of strategies that focus more on a doctrine of stabilisation and an inter- and intra-sectoral approach to cooperation. The doctrinal approach in populo-centric operations, i.e. where the focus is on insurrectionary and/or terrorist phenomena, cannot separate military doctrine from political doctrine, even for the purposes of the study, without being biased. Operation Barkhane is an illustration of a shift in French defence strategy.
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