The French are having success in West Africa fighting Islamic Militants. Yahoo/AFP

French troops on a protection detail. Yahoo/AFP

France has killed or captured over 200 Jihadists in West Africa, including some important leaders. Yahoo/AFP. Among the dead is the leader of the Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar Al-Murabitoun group, Ahmed el Tilemsi. The victories in 2014 come on the heals of a very successful operation last year where Jihidists were routed in Mali. In August of this year France expanded their operations outside of Mali to include the countries of Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania. 3000 French troops are deployed and are currently building a base in Niger close to the border with Libya, a hotbed of Jihadi activity. France has not ruled out military action in Libya as well, but the security situation there is chaotic at best. 

My Comment:

I first posted about France's military action in West Africa here. It is always good to hear about the French military being successful. They get a bad rap for stupid reasons, but when it comes down to it they are one of the most professional and capable armies in the world. They are pretty much  taking care of West Africa  by themselves and they are helping in Iraq as well.  They have a great motivation to do so as well. Many of these West African countries were former colonies of France and they also have a large Muslim population. It is in their best interest to fight against extremists wherever they might be. 

As for West and Northern Africa, the situation is a mess. Libya's instability is a major factor why everything is going crazy there. The destruction of Gaddafi and his government opened the floodgates for sophisticated weaponry and Jihadi groups. In the chaos after the fall of the old government, splinter factions have arisen and threaten the entire region. And like i posted the other day, ISIS is in the area as well. France might not be willing to do something about the situation yet, and nobody else is either, but eventually something will have to be done. Here is hoping that France can help keep the region under control. 

Also, here is a video from last year's conflict in Mali. There is a little bit of graphic content so skip this one if you are sensitive to such things. Either way though it shows how effective the French were in fighting the insurgents. The first part of the video is mostly African Militia but about 1/3rd of the way through is where you can see the French fighting.