Paris, Nov 29, 2019 – An ambush by Islamic State jihadists did not cause a collision between two French army helicopters which left 13 soldiers dead in Mali, France’s military chief of staff said Friday. The Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for Monday’s accident, the heaviest single loss for the French army in nearly four decades. The general said there was no attack by the jihadists that the army was pursuing near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. The accident brought to 41 the number of French troops killed in the Sahel region since Paris intervened against jihadists in northern Mali in 2013. Since then, armed groups affiliated with IS, Al-Qaeda and others have advanced into southern Mali as well as neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 29, 2019 08:15 UTC