Mali gunman attacks..

[Obelix 11]

BBC are reporting 170 hostages in a Mali hotel. French army is being deployed to sort them out.

 

I get the impression that someone really doesn't like France at the moment, the Raddisson is where all the international business peeps and air France pilots tend to stay.... Paying someone back for assistance in a coup a couple of years back?

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34877069

[L00b 441]

Paying someone back for assistance in a coup a couple of years back?

Mali asked for help a couple of years back, in an official capacity through regular diplomatic channels.

 

As regards this latest development, it's just following on from last Friday and, as I posted some time back in another thread and regrettably, likely far from being the last.

 

Relative to Europe, there's a lot more fundie activity throughout the top northern half of Africa (and below, into Kenya), much of which was long French dominion and wherein France accordingly still has a lot of interests and people for these socio-economico-historical reasons.

 

And it's harder for intel services to keep tabs on people there relative to the EU: far bigger distances, far more people, less geographical concentration, next to no infrastructure, and much less resources to cover it all.

 

If I was French and anywhere in Africa/the Middle East, I'd be making a beeline for elsewhere, RTFN, as the nationality is now clearly joined to the UK as a 'Smaller Satan' (to the US 'Great Satan') these days.

[Obelix 11]

Mali asked for help a couple of years back, in an official capacity through regular diplomatic channels..

 

I seem to recall that the French actually put boots on the ground in the Sahel region though to sort out some Islamist groups... that's what I was thinking of. It was a while after the coup etc...

[foxy lady 10]

I seem to recall that the French actually put boots on the ground in the Sahel region though to sort out some Islamist groups... that's what I was thinking of. It was a while after the coup etc...

 

As far as I recall the French have a garison of around 1000 there. It could be the Foreign Legion.

[L00b 441]

I seem to recall that the French actually put boots on the ground in the Sahel region though to sort out some Islamist groups... that's what I was thinking of. It was a while after the coup etc...

Going back decades and longer still, they (well, the Légion mostly) are forever in and out of the Saharan and sub-Saharan areas, whether fighting or

.

France has deployed about 200 men in Madama.

 

They are sleeping under tents but Madama is no unknown territory.

 

This advanced base is taking shape right next to an old fort that the French army built out of dry mud in 1931 to defend themselves against the Italians, first, and then the British.

(source) Edited November 20, 2015 by L00b

[Obelix 11]

Looks like the Malian special forces have just kicked the door in and gone for it....

 

Lets see how well they manage to pull this one off.

[tinfoilhat 11]

If this goes horribly wrong will we be singing the Mali national anthem as well as the French one at premier league grounds this weekend?

[999tigger 10]

Any western casualties is a prize for them, with the USA and UK top. I wonder if ISIS abd their allies will be able to ratchet it up?

 

 

So they have 80 rescued and 3 dead (unidentified) so far 12:15. 90 left and the gunmen.

 

Death toll now up to 18.

Edited November 20, 2015 by 999tigger

[runningman1 12]

If this goes horribly wrong will we be singing the Mali national anthem as well as the French one at premier league grounds this weekend?

 

No, we don't have thousands of years of shared culture and history with the Malians, sad as it is, I don't care as much and neither do most Brits.

 

I am sure that the various countries surrounding Mali will think the opposite.

[melthebell 863]

If this goes horribly wrong will we be singing the Mali national anthem as well as the French one at premier league grounds this weekend?

 

Doubt it, same as no Iraqi, Turkish, afgani, Egyptian, Russian, Ukrainian etc etc, hypocrisy

[runningman1 12]

Doubt it, same as no Iraqi, Turkish, afgani, Egyptian, Russian, Ukrainian etc etc, hypocrisy

 

Not hypocrisy at all, read my rather simple explanation.

[999tigger 10]

Doubt it, same as no Iraqi, Turkish, afgani, Egyptian, Russian, Ukrainian etc etc, hypocrisy

 

Why is it hyocricy? Surely bu closely aligning ourselves with other western european powers oys becayse we do have shared culture and values.

 

We dont have the same with the counties you mention.