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13 French troops were killed in a midair collision between two helicopters in Mali on November 26 night. The French troops are deployed in Africa’s Sahel Region in the framework of Operation Barkhane. This is an anti-insurgent opreation launched in August 2014. The current French force consists of 4,500 troops, 3 combat drones, 7 warplanes, 19 helicotpers, 6-10 transport planes, 260 armoured vehicles, 360 logistic vehicles and 210 light armoured vehicles. Despite this large-scale military presence, France has failed to put an end to al-Qaeda and ISIS presence in the region. This raises concerns that the real aim of the effort could be different from the publicly stated goals.
