A first number of 10 000 soldiers releasedFirst theoretical number of at least 10 000 soldier-on planned 75,000 was reached to begin military operations in the Sahel belt before the end of the year, officials said a military source. Military actions will be managed from the operational command of Tamanrasset, while the headquarters ‘policy’ joint is installed in Algiers, and military leaders in Mali, Niger and Mauritania will be associated with all operations taking place in their own territory, with large extensions of skills for combat units to operate either in the countries concerned by the threat of terrorism and organized crime.
The operational staff “clearly identified the contribution of each state in terms of land and air forces,” but they do not intend transform “the Sahel zone of war in Afghanistan, where we see soldiers patrolling with dozens of kilograms of weapons on their backs.” The coalition seeks primarily to sustainable actions and make the Sahara a zone of stability in terms of actions, military cooperation.
According to a senior military source, the military coalition should not be enough with current members, but Morocco and Tunisia will be involved in the security process, in which Algeria remains the locomotive. Libya, once it has a representative government, will also be involved in the security process. For obvious reasons, Rabat still procrastinating fit into the process, as we read about in newspapers close to the Makhzen, but the process is started, and every country of the triple saharo- sahélo-maghrébine should contribute, because it is in its own security.
At the Following the last meeting in Algiers, things became clearer. These are the four countries involved – Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – that will lead the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, and not the Western powers. In fact, the coalition is ready to fight al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, which threatens the security in the Sahel, but the goal remains to Algiers route to avoid that area becomes a war zone. Sub-Sahara-Sahel region is an area for tourism and should be avoided in a theater of military operations be sustainable.