November 22, 2015
French fight in Mali's hostile desert
By Thomas Fessy BBC News, northern Mali
25 March 2013
| Editor’s Note: The French have been assisting in the battle against Islamist Fighters in Mali. |
The valley of Terz has been bombarded by French Mirage planes over the last month; the hunt is now conducted on foot.
But the sound of jets is constantly echoing over our head and through the valley.
Nearly 2,000 French soldiers are deployed all over the rocky desert, with as many troops from Chad in support.
They are searching for jihadist fighters and their hide-outs in the mountains - part of the Adrar des Ifoghas near the Algerian border.
The terrain is treacherous and unforgiving. The foreign legionnaires who we were embedded with looked exhausted; their noses and lips were sunburnt, they were caked in dust and hadn't showered in days.
Each soldier carries more than 50kg (8 stone) and under their boots, the rocks are as jagged and as sharp as glass.
It is relentless; it is unremitting. There is no respite here, and at 60C, the dark stones become as hot as burning coals.
Cave caches
The French have been advancing through the western entrance of the mountain range while the Chadians entered the eastern point.
Both the French and the Chadians engaged in the fiercest fighting last month, inflicting heavy casualties on the insurgents, including one of the most violent al-Qaeda field commanders, Abou Zeid.
The Chadians then formed a buffer force leaving time for the French to search valley after valley, hill after hill.
"We first used heavy artillery, jets and helicopters to downsize the enemy from a reasonable distance," Col Benoit Desmeulles, Commanding Officer at the Foreign Legion, said.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-21919769
