Military Review English Edition November-December 2014 | Page 87

OPERATION SERVAL

complicating the seizure of Kidal. However, during the
rainy season ( June to October), air support and ground
movement in subsequent phases (not discussed in this
article) were hampered, complicating surveillance,
reconnaissance, logistics, and maneuver.
Update, November 2014. The handover to Malian
authorities has become a long-lasting collaborative
effort between African Union and European Union
political leaders, with the French Army ensuring
quick-reaction forces in support of Malian confidence
building. Since the end of Serval in July 2014, France
has built on its operational successes as well as Malian
successes in order to adopt a regional approach to the
transnational security challenges in this part of the
world. All French operations in the Sahel have been
merged into Operation Barkhane, covering Mauritania,
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad.
Nevertheless, stability in Mali will need a political
settlement, not only between southern and northern
ethnic groups but also within the Malian Army itself. If
the southern Malian units conduct themselves well, the
population likely will resist the return of the insurgents.
The Malian government established the Commission
for Dialogue and Reconciliation 6 March 2013 to examine any reported abuses by military forces operating
in the north.

Conclusion
The French president, minister of defense, and
even the news media praised the exceptional reactivity,
the professionalism, and the determination of French
troops during phases 0 through 2 in 2013. François
Hollande even paid a visit to Malian interim president Diocounda Traoré, in just-liberated Timbuktu, 2
February 2013. However, as old soldiers say, a mission is
not over until the last unit is dismissed into its barracks
and every piece of equipment has been turned in and
accounted for.
The first challenges of 2013 for France were passed
with flying colors.16 The Afghan combat experience of
French troops, combined with their knowledge of the
African theater and a good bit of luck, produced good
results against a fleeing enemy over more than ninety-five percent of the Malian territory. This mission
highlighted the return of France to its traditional area of
interest—French-speaking Africa—in compliance with
the defense white paper, released July 2013.17 This role
had been somewhat overshadowed by France’s engagement in Afghanistan from 2008 to 2012, notwithstanding intense operations in Ivory Coast and Central
African Republic in 2010 and 2011. However, the
volume of the French deployment, in such a short time,
over such a distance, was indeed unprecedented.

Lt. Gen. Olivier Tramond, French Army, is the former commander of the Centre de Doctrine d’Emploi des Forces
(Center for Doctrine for the Employment of Forces), French Army Combined Arms Center, Paris. As an airborne
marine infantryman, he served in various staff and command assignments from Paris to the Pacific and took part
in many operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa. He now serves in the inspector corps, next to the
Minister of Defense.
Lt. Col. Philippe Seigneur, French Army, was a staff officer in the lessons learned department of the Centre de
Doctrine d’Emploi des Forces. He served as an infantry field grade officer in Bosnia, Chad, and Ivory Coast before
occupying various international staff positions from Germany to Afghanistan. He is now serving in Germany.

NOTES
1. Laura Seay, “Mali is Not a Stan: When it Comes to Covering Africa’s Latest Conflict, It’s Suddenly Amateur Hour,” Foreign Policy.com,
30 January 2013, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/01/30/
mali_is_not_afghanistan_france_africa?page=0,1.
2. François Hollande, speech to the National Institute of Higher
Defense Studies, translated by Philippe Seigneur, 24 May 2013.
MILITARY REVIEW  November-December 2014

3. Mériadec Raffray, “Les Rébellions Touarègues au Sahel,