Abstract

DE RESENDE SILVA, Josias Marcos; DE OLIVEIRA MENDONCA, Henrique; BEZERRA DE AZEVEDO, Rodrigo  and  COSTA MARINHO, Rafael. The French Intervention in Mali: a case study on Operation Serval. rev.relac.int.estrateg.segur. [online]. 2022, vol.17, n.2, pp.155-172.  Epub Dec 31, 2022. ISSN 1909-3063.  https://doi.org/10.18359/ries.6168.

taking advantage of the instability resulting from a coup d'état in March 2012, Tuareg rebels conquered the historically claimed region of Azawad, located in northern Mali. In the following months, armed jihadist groups that supported the Tuareg movement seized power.

Movement seized power in the conquered territory and imposed an extremist Islamic regime. In addition to triggering a humanitarian crisis of major proportions, the jihadists became a threat to the south of the country and the entire Sahel region. After intense diplomatic negotiations with international organizations and following a request for military assistance from Mali's interim president, Dioncounda Traoré, France led a military intervention between January 2013 and July 2014 called "Operation Serval." In this context, the article analyzes Operation Serval to assess the impact of this French military intervention in Mali. Methodologically, a case study on Operation Serval was conducted to deeply understand its conduct, background, and consequences at the political and military levels. As a result, it is possible to verify that Operation Serval successfully fulfilled its proposed military objectives.

Objectives. However, good military development did not correspond to success at the political level. Although France temporarily obtained legitimacy for military intervention, stability in Mali, and a leading role in the Sahel region, the structural causes of the Malian conflict were not eliminated.

Of the Malian conflict were not eliminated. Thus, a decade after the military intervention in Mali, France intervention in Mali, the French presence in the Sahel is in check.

Keywords : Operation Serval; French military intervention; Mali; Sahel.

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