{"id":88083,"date":"2026-02-16T16:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=88083"},"modified":"2026-02-16T16:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:11:08","slug":"operation-barkhane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/operation-barkhane\/","title":{"rendered":"Operation Barkhane, Background, Objectives, Features"},"content":{"rendered":"

Operation Barkhane was a <\/span>large-scale French counter-terrorism military operation <\/b>conducted in the <\/span>Sahel region of Africa <\/b>from <\/span>August 2014 to November 2022. <\/b>It <\/span>aimed to combat Islamist extremist groups operating across the Sahara-Sahel belt.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Operation Barkhane Background\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

The background of Operation Barkhane lies in the <\/span>growing terrorism<\/b> and <\/span>political instability in the Sahel region of Africa after 2011.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The fall of the government in Libya during the Arab Spring led to the spread of weapons and armed fighters across nearby countries. Many fighters returned to northern Mali, where a rebellion started in 2012. In the same year, a military coup in Mali weakened the government. As a result, extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda captured important cities like Timbuktu and Gao. To stop these groups from taking control of the entire country, <\/span>France launched Operation Serval in 2013<\/b>. This operation successfully pushed back the terrorists. However, the problem did not end because these extremist groups were operating across borders in countries like Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad. Since terrorism in the region had become a regional issue and not just a Mali problem, <\/span>France started Operation Barkhane in 2014 to fight terrorism across the whole Sahel region.<\/b><\/p>\n

Operation Barkane Key Features<\/b><\/h2>\n