CSS Joint Military Force Records Major Counterterrorism Gains with Airstrikes Against Terrorists

A joint military operation of the Confederation of the Sahel States (CSS), consisting of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, has recorded gains in the fight against terrorists with targeted airstrikes. According to an announcement by The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa), this is progress in ongoing counterterrorism operations.

In a statement released on Sunday, FAMa reported a series of precise airstrikes targeting terrorist positions across Mali. According to the military, the strikes were launched on April 4 after surveillance operations detected terrorist movements in several localities. The air raids reportedly resulted in the neutralisation of multiple armed combatants and the destruction of their logistical infrastructure.

The same day, CSS forces targeted around fifteen terrorist hideouts hidden in forested areas in central Mali, as well as several more in the southern part of the country. The coordinated attacks are part of a broader strategy by the CSS to reclaim control over vast rural zones long infiltrated by extremist groups.

The recent operations were also bolstered by successful intelligence-sharing among CSS member states. On March 28, joint forces intercepted a stolen vehicle in Djidara, in the Gao region of Mali. The car had been taken a month earlier from the area between Dori and Tera in Niger. Inside were two suspected terrorists, identified as Adama Harouna and Lamine Sidy Ould, who were reportedly using border routes to evade capture.

The CSS said the interception directly resulted from strengthened collaboration between the coalition’s military intelligence units.

Recall that the CSS alliance was formed in 2023 by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger as a defence pact following their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The three countries have since intensified joint military efforts to combat terrorist groups that have destabilised the Sahel for over a decade.

Read Also: “Sovereignty Begins With Currency, AES Will Exit CFA Franc” – Niger’s Foreign Minister 

“We’re in a Popular, Progressive Revolution, Not a Democracy” — Burkina Faso’s President Traoré

About The Author

Oluwasegun Sanusi

author

See author's posts