Operation Juniper Shield, formerly known as Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS), is the military operation conducted by the United States and partner nations in the Saharan and Sahel regions of Africa, consisting of counterterrorism efforts and policing of arms and drug trafficking across central Africa. It is part of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The other OEF mission in Africa is Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA).
Canada deployed teams of less than 15 CSOR members to Mali throughout 2011 to help combat militants in the Sahara.[2] Although the special forces will not engage in combat, they will train the Malian military in basic soldiering. Areas include communications, planning, first aid, and providing aid to the general populace.[2]
Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara is primarily a training mission meant to equip 10 nations to combat insurgents in the region.[29] Africa Command states:
OEF-TS is the USG's 3rd priority counter terror effort conducting activities that support TSCTP but are not exclusive to TSCTP. OEF-TS supports TSCTP by forming relationships of peace, security, and cooperation among all Trans Sahara Nations. OEF-TS fosters collaboration and communication among participating countries. Furthermore, OEF-TS strengthens counterterrorism and border security, promotes democratic governance, reinforces bilateral military ties, and enhances development and institution building. U.S. Africa Command, through OEF-TS, provides training, equipment, assistance and advice to partner nation armed forces. This increases their capacity and capability to deny safe haven to terrorists and ultimately defeat extremist and terrorist activities in the region.[29]
At some point in 2013, OEF-TS was redesignated as Operation Juniper Shield.[30] Operation Juniper Shield encompasses American operations across Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia.[31]
Training programs
Flintlock
Nigerien soldiers train during Flintlock 2018 training exercises.
Twice a year, the Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program holds a multinational training exercise.[32] Called Flintlocks, these exercises are meant to strengthen special forces from the United States as well as multiple other nations.[32] Participants include troops from the Sahel and those from NATO members.[32] Flintlock started in 1988 and continued through Operation Enduring Freedom, and is now held in Africa.[32] The exercises teach medical operations, infantry and peacekeeping training, airborne operations, humanitarian relief, and leadership skills.[32] The amount each category is stressed depends on the host nation's needs.[32] In addition, participants are put through different scenarios involving skills instructed during the exercise.[33]
Mali was supposed to host the 2012 exercise, but the United States decided to postpone the exercise.[34] Officials say Flintlock was postponed because Mali is facing a renewed Tuareg insurgency.[34]
The Atlas Accord
Although the Flintlock Exercise was postponed, another training program in Mali was not. The Atlas Accord was created in 2012 to train African military personnel in a number of skills while focusing on logistics.[3] The exercise includes classroom instruction and field instruction.[3] Atlas Accord 12 focused solely on logistics and aerial resupply, while the next exercise in 2013 will continue training in aerial logistics but will also include command, control, communications, and computer (C4) techniques.[3]
African Lion exercise
The largest training exercise, African Lion, is an annual security cooperation exercise held by the US and Morocco.[35] Created in 2008, this program is designed to instruct a variety of skills, including aerial logistics, non-lethal weapons training, combined arms and maneuver exercises.[35] More than 900 Moroccans and 1,200 Americans take part in the two-week exercise.[35]
History
On 12 September 2007, a USAF C-130 was damaged from rifle fire by Tuareg forces while the aircraft was engaged in a supply drop to besieged Malian soldiers, no Americans were wounded in the incident.[36] The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) established the Joint Special Operations Task Force–Trans Sahara (JSOTF-TS)[37] to help combat terrorism in the region. In 2012, the name of Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara transitioned to Operation Juniper Shield, although the operation was still referred to in US Government sources as OEF-TS as late as 2014.[38][39]
ABC News reported that US forces arrived in Niger in early 2013 to support the French military intervention in Mali; 150 US personnel set up a surveillance drone operation over Mali that was conducted out of Niamey. As of 2017, there were about 800 US troops in Niger, the majority of whom are construction crews working to build up a second drone base in northern Niger. The remainder conduct a surveillance drone mission out of Niamey that helps out the French in Mali and other regional countries in the fight against the terrorists, and less than a hundred US Army Special Forces soldiers are also advising and assisting Niger's military to build up their fighting capability to counter the terrorists.[40]CNN reported that following the Tongo Tongo ambush in October 2017, which left 4 US soldiers killed, the government of Niger granted the US military the authority to arm its drones in Niger; the US military had been seeking the authority to arm its drones in Niger for months prior to the ambush.[41]
ABC News also reported that there are 300 U.S. military personnel in Burkina Faso and Cameroon carrying out the same task as US forces in Niger,[40]The Guardian reported that the US military deployed 300 personnel to Cameroon in early October 2015, with the approval of the Cameroonian government, their primary mission was to provide intelligence support to local forces as well as conducting reconnaissance flights,[42] The personnel are also overseeing a program to transfer American military vehicles to the Cameroonian Army to aid in their fight against Islamist militants,[43]Army Times later reported that US soldiers in Cameroon are also providing IED awareness training to the country's infantry forces.[44] CNN reported that in May 2016 that US personnel conduct the drone operations from Garoua to help provide intelligence in the region to assist local forces.[45]
^ abcde. AFRICOM. 3 February 2011. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012.
^ abc. Montreal Gazette. 2 December 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012.
^ abcdef"US, Mali Armies Kick off Exercise Atlas Accord; Postpone Exercise Flintlock". Defense Web. 13 February 2012. from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
^"French Hostage Executed after raid on Al-Qaeda base". France 24 news. 26 July 2011. from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
^"Police in Spain arrest 5 suspected of financing terrorists". CNN. 27 September 2011. from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
^"US Starts Anti-Al-Qaeda Military Exercise in Sahara". BBC. 3 May 2010. from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
^. Reuters Africa. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
^. fmn.dk. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
^Maclean, Ruth; O’Reilly, Finbarr (29 March 2020). "Crisis in the Sahel Becoming France's Forever War" – via NYTimes.com.
^Forces, Swedish Armed. "Swedish Special Forces to Mali". Försvarsmakten. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
^"Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) / Islamic State in the Sahara (ISS) / Islamic State in Burkina Faso & Mali (ISISBM)". Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium. from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
^Lamothe, Dan (29 December 2014). "Meet Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the Pentagon's new mission in Afghanistan". from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
^. USASOC News Service. United States Army Special Operations Command. 9 December 2010. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
^"Al-Qaeda in North Africa appoints new leader after killing". Al Jazeera. 22 November 2020.
^"Hosted news". from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2016..
^"Mauritania army raid killed al-Qaida group leader". Miami Herald. 23 October 2011.
^"AQIM Leader Surrenders in Algeria". News24. 1 June 2011. from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
^"Niger Militant with ties to killers of French engineer arrested". ADN Kronos. from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
^ ab. World Tribune. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
^. Reuters Africa. 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
^"Mauritania Killings May be New Qaeda Chapter". Reuters. 11 February 2008. from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
^"Tuaregs Use Qaddafi's Arms for Rebellion in Mali". The New York Times. 5 February 2012. from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
^. 24/7 Nigeria news update. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
^"US to get Africa command centre". BBC News. 6 February 2007. from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
^. EUCOM. Archived from the original on 9 January 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
^ "Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI)". Global Security. from the original on 10 February 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
^"Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS)". Global Security. from the original on 15 February 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
^ ab. AFRICOM. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
^"Joint Special Operations Task Force - Juniper Shield (JSOTF-JS)". from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
^"Archived copy" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ abcdef"Flintlock". Global Security. from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
^"Flintlock 10 Begins in Burkina Faso". AFRICOM. 4 May 2010. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012.
^ ab. The Washington Post. 10 February 2012. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
^ abc"African Lion 12 ready to roar: marine forces in Africa conducts final planning conference". DVIDs hub. from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
^"Rifle fire strikes U.S. C-130 during airdrop over Mali - News - Stripes". from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
^Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN978-1472807908, p. 280
^(PDF). 3 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Pike, John. "Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara (OEF-TS) / Operation Juniper Shield". GlobalSecurity.org. from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
^ ab"Why US troops are in Niger". ABC News. 19 October 2017. from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
^"US military is granted authority to arm its drones in Niger". CNN. 1 December 2017. from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
^"Obama to deploy 300 US troops to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram". The Guardian. 14 October 2017. from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
^"US Sending Troops, Vehicles To Cameroon To Combat Boko Haram". DefenseNews.com. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
^"U.S. soldiers help African armies detect and defeat IEDs". Army times. 31 May 2016.
^"U.S. special forces wage secretive 'small wars' against terrorists". CNN. 12 May 2016. from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative Details of the operation by Global Security.
January 10, 2023
operation, juniper, shield, formerly, known, operation, enduring, freedom, trans, sahara, military, operation, conducted, united, states, partner, nations, saharan, sahel, regions, africa, consisting, counterterrorism, efforts, policing, arms, drug, traffickin. Operation Juniper Shield formerly known as Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara OEF TS is the military operation conducted by the United States and partner nations in the Saharan and Sahel regions of Africa consisting of counterterrorism efforts and policing of arms and drug trafficking across central Africa It is part of the Global War on Terrorism GWOT The other OEF mission in Africa is Operation Enduring Freedom Horn of Africa OEF HOA Operation Juniper Shield 13 Part of the War on terror Islamist insurgency in the Sahel A United States special forces NCO watches weapons marksmanship training for a member of a Malian counter terrorism unit in December 2010 14 Date6 February 2007 ongoing 15 years 11 months and 3 days LocationSahara Desert and North Africa West AfricaResultOngoingBelligerents Algeria Morocco Mauritania Tunisia Burkina Faso Chad Mali Niger Nigeria Senegal Cameroon Togo Ghana Ivory Coast Benin Cape Verde Gambia Guinea Guinea Bissau Liberia Sierra Leone Supported amp Trained By United StatesCanada 1 2 3 France 1 4 Germany 1 Netherlands 1 Spain 1 5 United Kingdom 6 7 Denmark 8 Czech Republic 9 Sweden 10 Islamic militants MOJWA AQIM Al Mourabitoun Ansar al Sharia Macina Liberation Front Ansar Dine Boko Haram 11 Ansaru 11 ISIL Islamic State in the Greater Sahara 2015 present 12 Commanders and leadersAbdelmadjid Tebboune 2019 present Aymen Benabderrahmane 2021 present Mohammed VI 2007 present Aziz Akhannouch 2021 present Mohamed Ould Ghazouani 2019 present Mohamed Ould Bilal 2020 present Kais Saied 2019 present Najla Bouden 2021 present Ibrahim Traore 2022 present Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela 2022 present Mahamat Deby 2021 present Saleh Kebzabo 2022 present Assimi Goita 2021 present Abdoulaye Maiga 2022 present Mohamed Bazoum 2021 present Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou 2021 present Muhammadu Buhari 2015 present Macky Sall 2012 present Amadou Ba 2022 present Paul Biya 2007 present Joseph Ngute 2019 present Faure Gnassingbe 2007 present Victoire Tomegah Dogbe 2020 present Nana Akufo Addo 2017 present Alassane Ouattara 2010 present Patrick Achi 2021 present Patrice Talon 2016 present Jose Maria Neves 2021 present Ulisses Correia e Silva 2016 present Adama Barrow 2017 present Mamady Doumbouya 2021 present Bernard Goumou 2022 present Umaro Sissoco Embalo 2020 present Nuno Gomes Nabiam 2020 present George Weah 2018 present Julius Maada Bio 2018 present Joe Biden 2021 present Charles III 2022 present Rishi Sunak 2022 present Mary Simon 2021 present Justin Trudeau 2015 present Emmanuel Macron 2017 present Elisabeth Borne 2022 present Frank Walter Steinmeier 2017 present Olaf Scholz 2021 present Willem Alexander 2013 present Mark Rutte 2010 present Felipe VI 2014 present Pedro Sanchez 2018 present Margrethe II 2007 present Mette Frederiksen 2019 present Milos Zeman 2013 present Petr Fiala 2021 present Carl XVI Gustaf 2007 present Ulf Kristersson 2022 present Former Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelkader Bensalah Abdelaziz BelkhademAhmed OuyahiaAbdelmalek SellalYoucef YousfiNoureddine BedouiSabri BoukadoumAbdelaziz DjeradDriss JettouAbbas El FassiAbdelilah BenkiraneSaadeddine OthmaniEly Ould Mohamed VallSidi Ould Cheikh AbdallahiBa Mamadou MbareMohamed Ould Abdel AzizSidi Mohamed Ould BoubacarZeine Ould ZeidaneYahya Ould Ahmed El WaghefMoulaye Ould Mohamed LaghdafYahya Ould HademineMohamed Salem Ould BechirIsmail Ould Bedde Ould Cheikh SidiyaZine El Abidine Ben AliMohamed GhannouchiFouad MebazaaMoncef MarzoukiBeji Caid EssebsiMohamed EnnaceurHamadi JebaliAli LaarayedhMehdi JomaaHabib EssidYoussef ChahedElyes FakhfakhHichem MechichiBlaise CompaoreHonore TraoreYacouba Isaac ZidaMichel KafandoGilbert DiendereCherif SyRoch Marc Christian KaborePaul Henri Sandaogo DamibaParamanga Ernest YonliTertius ZongoLuc Adolphe TiaoPaul Kaba ThiebaChristophe Joseph Marie DabireLassina ZerboAlbert OuedraogoIdriss Deby Pascal YoadimnadjiAdoum YounousmiDelwa Kassire KoumakoyeYoussouf Saleh AbbasEmmanuel NadingarDjimrangar DadnadjiKalzeubet Pahimi DeubetAlbert Pahimi PadackeAmadou Toumani ToureAmadou SanogoDioncounda TraoreIbrahim Boubacar KeitaBah NdawOusmane Issoufi MaigaModibo SidibeCisse Mariam Kaidama SidibeCheick Modibo DiarraDjango SissokoOumar Tatam LyMoussa MaraModibo KeitaAbdoulaye Idrissa MaigaSoumeylou Boubeye MaigaBoubou CisseMoctar OuaneChoguel Kokalla MaigaMamadou TandjaSalou DjiboMahamadou IssoufouHama AmadouSeyni OumarouAlbade AboubaAli Badjo GamatieMahamadou DandaBrigi RafiniOlusegun ObasanjoUmaru Musa Yar AduaGoodluck JonathanAbdoulaye WadeCheikh Hadjibou SoumareSouleymane Ndene NdiayeAbdoul MbayeAminata ToureMahammed DionneEphraim InoniPhilemon YangYawovi AgboyiboKomlan MallyGilbert HoungboKwesi Ahoomey ZunuKomi Selom KlassouJohn KufuorJohn Atta MillsJohn MahamaLaurent GbagboCharles Konan BannyGuillaume SoroGilbert AkeJeannot Ahoussou KouadioDaniel Kablan DuncanAmadou Gon CoulibalyHamed BakayokoMathieu KerekouThomas Boni YayiPascal KoupakiLionel ZinsouPedro PiresJorge Carlos FonsecaJose Maria NevesYahya JammehLansana ConteMoussa Dadis CamaraSekouba KonateAlpha CondeEugene CamaraLansana KouyateAhmed Tidiane SouareKabine KomaraJean Marie DoreMohamed Said FofanaMamady YoulaIbrahima Kassory FofanaMohamed BeavoguiJoao Bernardo VieiraRaimundo PereiraMalam Bacai SanhaMamadu Ture KurumaManuel Serifo NhamadjoJose Mario VazAristides GomesMartinho Ndafa KabiCarlos CorreiaCarlos Gomes JuniorAdiato Djalo NandignaRui Duarte de BarrosDomingos Simoes PereiraBaciro DjaArtur SilvaFaustino ImbaliEllen Johnson SirleafAhmad Tejan KabbahErnest Bai KoromaGeorge W BushBarack ObamaDonald TrumpElizabeth IITony BlairGordon BrownDavid CameronTheresa MayBoris JohnsonLiz TrussMichaelle JeanDavid JohnstonJulie PayetteStephen HarperJacques ChiracNicolas SarkozyFrancois HollandeDominique de VillepinFrancois FillonJean Marc AyraultManuel VallsBernard CazeneuveEdouard PhilippeJean CastexHorst KohlerChristian WulffJoachim GauckAngela MerkelBeatrixJan Peter BalkenendeJuan Carlos IJose Luis Rodriguez ZapateroMariano RajoyAnders Fogh RasmussenLars Lokke RasmussenHelle Thorning SchmidtVaclav KlausMirek TopolanekJan FischerPetr NecasJiri RusnokBohuslav SobotkaAndrej BabisFredrik ReinfeldtStefan LofvenMagdalena AnderssonAbdelmalek Droukdel Abu Ubaidah Youssef al Annabi 15 Mokhtar Belmokhtar 16 Tiyib Ould Sidi Ali 17 Athmane Touati 18 Winan Bin Yousef POW 19 Strength1 325 American advisors amp trainers 3 20 900 Moroccans 20 400 Malians 3 250 Algerians 200 Chadians lt 1 000 Mauritanians 21 25 Senegalese medical doctorsAQIM 400 4 000 22 Tuaregs 1 000 23 Boko Haram 300 2 000 24 Casualties and lossesUnknownUnknownCauses September 11 attacks and 2003 Casablanca bombings Congress approved 500 million for the Trans Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative TSCTI over six years to support countries involved in counterterrorism against alleged threats of al Qaeda operating in African countries primarily Algeria Chad Mali Mauritania Niger Senegal Nigeria and Morocco 25 This program builds upon the former Pan Sahel Initiative PSI which concluded in December 2004 26 and focused on weapon and drug trafficking as well as counterterrorism 27 TSCTI has both military and non military components to it OEF TS is the military component of the program Civil affairs elements include USAID educational efforts airport security Department of the Treasury and State Department efforts 28 Canada deployed teams of less than 15 CSOR members to Mali throughout 2011 to help combat militants in the Sahara 2 Although the special forces will not engage in combat they will train the Malian military in basic soldiering Areas include communications planning first aid and providing aid to the general populace 2 Contents 1 Mission 2 Training programs 2 1 Flintlock 2 2 The Atlas Accord 2 3 African Lion exercise 3 History 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksMission EditOperation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara is primarily a training mission meant to equip 10 nations to combat insurgents in the region 29 Africa Command states OEF TS is the USG s 3rd priority counter terror effort conducting activities that support TSCTP but are not exclusive to TSCTP OEF TS supports TSCTP by forming relationships of peace security and cooperation among all Trans Sahara Nations OEF TS fosters collaboration and communication among participating countries Furthermore OEF TS strengthens counterterrorism and border security promotes democratic governance reinforces bilateral military ties and enhances development and institution building U S Africa Command through OEF TS provides training equipment assistance and advice to partner nation armed forces This increases their capacity and capability to deny safe haven to terrorists and ultimately defeat extremist and terrorist activities in the region 29 At some point in 2013 OEF TS was redesignated as Operation Juniper Shield 30 Operation Juniper Shield encompasses American operations across Algeria Burkina Faso Cameroon Chad Mali Mauritania Morocco Niger Nigeria Senegal and Tunisia 31 Training programs EditFlintlock Edit Nigerien soldiers train during Flintlock 2018 training exercises Twice a year the Joint Combined Exchange Training JCET program holds a multinational training exercise 32 Called Flintlocks these exercises are meant to strengthen special forces from the United States as well as multiple other nations 32 Participants include troops from the Sahel and those from NATO members 32 Flintlock started in 1988 and continued through Operation Enduring Freedom and is now held in Africa 32 The exercises teach medical operations infantry and peacekeeping training airborne operations humanitarian relief and leadership skills 32 The amount each category is stressed depends on the host nation s needs 32 In addition participants are put through different scenarios involving skills instructed during the exercise 33 Mali was supposed to host the 2012 exercise but the United States decided to postpone the exercise 34 Officials say Flintlock was postponed because Mali is facing a renewed Tuareg insurgency 34 The Atlas Accord Edit Although the Flintlock Exercise was postponed another training program in Mali was not The Atlas Accord was created in 2012 to train African military personnel in a number of skills while focusing on logistics 3 The exercise includes classroom instruction and field instruction 3 Atlas Accord 12 focused solely on logistics and aerial resupply while the next exercise in 2013 will continue training in aerial logistics but will also include command control communications and computer C4 techniques 3 African Lion exercise Edit The largest training exercise African Lion is an annual security cooperation exercise held by the US and Morocco 35 Created in 2008 this program is designed to instruct a variety of skills including aerial logistics non lethal weapons training combined arms and maneuver exercises 35 More than 900 Moroccans and 1 200 Americans take part in the two week exercise 35 History EditOn 12 September 2007 a USAF C 130 was damaged from rifle fire by Tuareg forces while the aircraft was engaged in a supply drop to besieged Malian soldiers no Americans were wounded in the incident 36 The Joint Special Operations Command JSOC established the Joint Special Operations Task Force Trans Sahara JSOTF TS 37 to help combat terrorism in the region In 2012 the name of Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara transitioned to Operation Juniper Shield although the operation was still referred to in US Government sources as OEF TS as late as 2014 38 39 ABC News reported that US forces arrived in Niger in early 2013 to support the French military intervention in Mali 150 US personnel set up a surveillance drone operation over Mali that was conducted out of Niamey As of 2017 there were about 800 US troops in Niger the majority of whom are construction crews working to build up a second drone base in northern Niger The remainder conduct a surveillance drone mission out of Niamey that helps out the French in Mali and other regional countries in the fight against the terrorists and less than a hundred US Army Special Forces soldiers are also advising and assisting Niger s military to build up their fighting capability to counter the terrorists 40 CNN reported that following the Tongo Tongo ambush in October 2017 which left 4 US soldiers killed the government of Niger granted the US military the authority to arm its drones in Niger the US military had been seeking the authority to arm its drones in Niger for months prior to the ambush 41 ABC News also reported that there are 300 U S military personnel in Burkina Faso and Cameroon carrying out the same task as US forces in Niger 40 The Guardian reported that the US military deployed 300 personnel to Cameroon in early October 2015 with the approval of the Cameroonian government their primary mission was to provide intelligence support to local forces as well as conducting reconnaissance flights 42 The personnel are also overseeing a program to transfer American military vehicles to the Cameroonian Army to aid in their fight against Islamist militants 43 Army Times later reported that US soldiers in Cameroon are also providing IED awareness training to the country s infantry forces 44 CNN reported that in May 2016 that US personnel conduct the drone operations from Garoua to help provide intelligence in the region to assist local forces 45 See also EditTuareg Rebellion 2007 2009 Insurgency in the Maghreb 2002 present 2012 Northern Mali conflict List of wars 2003 currentReferences Edit a b c d e Flintlock 11 Kicks off February 21 in Senegal AFRICOM 3 February 2011 Archived from the original on 24 December 2012 a b c Canada Sends Special Forces to Aid African Al Qaida Fight Montreal Gazette 2 December 2011 Archived from the original on 6 January 2012 a b c d e f US Mali Armies Kick off Exercise Atlas Accord Postpone Exercise Flintlock Defense Web 13 February 2012 Archived from the original on 18 May 2013 Retrieved 24 February 2012 French Hostage Executed after raid on Al Qaeda base France 24 news 26 July 2011 Archived from the original on 10 December 2011 Retrieved 13 September 2011 Police in Spain arrest 5 suspected of financing terrorists CNN 27 September 2011 Archived from the original on 31 October 2011 Retrieved 4 November 2011 US Starts Anti Al Qaeda Military Exercise in Sahara BBC 3 May 2010 Archived from the original on 7 January 2014 Retrieved 26 February 2012 Britain Signals Maghreb Push with Anti Terror Help Reuters Africa 18 October 2011 Archived from the original on 12 October 2017 Retrieved 1 July 2017 The Danish effort in the Sahel region MINUSMA and Operation Barkhane fmn dk Archived from the original on 26 September 2020 Retrieved 19 December 2020 Maclean Ruth O Reilly Finbarr 29 March 2020 Crisis in the Sahel Becoming France s Forever War via NYTimes com Forces Swedish Armed Swedish Special Forces to Mali Forsvarsmakten Retrieved 18 November 2020 a b Comolli 2015 pp 28 103 171 Islamic State in Greater Sahara ISGS Islamic State in the Sahara ISS Islamic State in Burkina Faso amp Mali ISISBM Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium Archived from the original on 26 October 2017 Retrieved 25 October 2017 Lamothe Dan 29 December 2014 Meet Operation Freedom s Sentinel the Pentagon s new mission in Afghanistan Archived from the original on 20 October 2017 Retrieved 16 December 2017 via www WashingtonPost com Training in Trans Sahara Africa USASOC News Service United States Army Special Operations Command 9 December 2010 Archived from the original on 16 December 2010 Retrieved 21 January 2011 Al Qaeda in North Africa appoints new leader after killing Al Jazeera 22 November 2020 Hosted news Archived from the original on 11 November 2011 Retrieved 11 November 2016 Mauritania army raid killed al Qaida group leader Miami Herald 23 October 2011 AQIM Leader Surrenders in Algeria News24 1 June 2011 Archived from the original on 5 March 2012 Retrieved 18 September 2011 Niger Militant with ties to killers of French engineer arrested ADN Kronos Archived from the original on 13 November 2011 Retrieved 8 November 2011 a b U S Morocco Plans Fifth African Lion Exercise World Tribune 12 February 2012 Archived from the original on 14 February 2012 Retrieved 25 February 2012 Al Qaeda retreats from West Mali Camps Military Sources Reuters Africa 5 August 2011 Archived from the original on 18 May 2017 Retrieved 1 July 2017 Mauritania Killings May be New Qaeda Chapter Reuters 11 February 2008 Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 1 July 2017 Tuaregs Use Qaddafi s Arms for Rebellion in Mali The New York Times 5 February 2012 Archived from the original on 23 February 2017 Retrieved 27 February 2017 5 Facts About Boko Haram 24 7 Nigeria news update Archived from the original on 26 February 2012 Retrieved 2 March 2012 US to get Africa command centre BBC News 6 February 2007 Archived from the original on 10 February 2012 Retrieved 19 May 2011 EUCOM Operations and Initiatives EUCOM Archived from the original on 9 January 2007 Retrieved 6 February 2007 Pan Sahel Initiative PSI Global Security Archived from the original on 10 February 2007 Retrieved 6 February 2007 Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara OEF TS Global Security Archived from the original on 15 February 2007 Retrieved 6 February 2007 a b Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara AFRICOM Archived from the original on 13 March 2012 Retrieved 15 March 2012 Joint Special Operations Task Force Juniper Shield JSOTF JS Archived from the original on 5 October 2018 Retrieved 4 October 2018 Archived copy PDF Archived PDF from the original on 5 October 2018 Retrieved 4 October 2018 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link a b c d e f Flintlock Global Security Archived from the original on 18 October 2012 Retrieved 24 February 2012 Flintlock 10 Begins in Burkina Faso AFRICOM 4 May 2010 Archived from the original on 28 July 2012 a b US Postpones Counter Terrorism Training Exercises in Mali as Army there Battles Tuareg Rebels The Washington Post 10 February 2012 Archived from the original on 11 February 2012 Retrieved 7 September 2017 a b c African Lion 12 ready to roar marine forces in Africa conducts final planning conference DVIDs hub Archived from the original on 5 March 2014 Retrieved 25 February 2012 Rifle fire strikes U S C 130 during airdrop over Mali News Stripes Archived from the original on 5 October 2018 Retrieved 4 October 2018 Neville Leigh Special Forces in the War on Terror General Military Osprey Publishing 2015 ISBN 978 1472807908 p 280 Crisis In Mali PDF 3 March 2013 Archived from the original on 3 March 2013 Retrieved 16 December 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Pike John Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara OEF TS Operation Juniper Shield GlobalSecurity org Archived from the original on 22 December 2017 Retrieved 16 December 2017 a b Why US troops are in Niger ABC News 19 October 2017 Archived from the original on 25 October 2017 Retrieved 25 October 2017 US military is granted authority to arm its drones in Niger CNN 1 December 2017 Archived from the original on 8 December 2017 Retrieved 8 December 2017 Obama to deploy 300 US troops to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram The Guardian 14 October 2017 Archived from the original on 18 October 2017 Retrieved 25 October 2017 US Sending Troops Vehicles To Cameroon To Combat Boko Haram DefenseNews com 20 October 2015 Retrieved 25 October 2015 U S soldiers help African armies detect and defeat IEDs Army times 31 May 2016 U S special forces wage secretive small wars against terrorists CNN 12 May 2016 Archived from the original on 24 October 2017 Retrieved 25 October 2017 Sources EditComolli Virginia 2015 Boko Haram Nigeria s Islamist Insurgency London Oxford University Press External links EditOfficial United States Africa Command site Maps of Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative Details of the operation by Global Security Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Operation Juniper Shield amp oldid 1130756721, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
