French paras jump near Darfur

[blaster_e11]

Last Friday we learned that French paratroopers jumped on the border between Chad, Darfur and Centerafrica.It was the 1st time since the Kolwezi intervention, in 1978, in Zaire (now Congo-Kinshasa) that such a large airborne operation was conducted in Africa. The Joint Chief of Staff tried to keep it low as the campagne for the French Présidence de la République is going on right now. The French policy in Africa is a sensitive subject and the Government didn’t want it to become a political argument.

Since december 2006, a detail of 18 French troopers were deployed in Birao (a small town the Centerafrican troops took back from the rebels with the help of the French.

March the 3rd : rebel fighters come back to Birao and fight against the Government troops

March the 4th : 50 rebels attack the French camp aith technicals, RPGs and AKs. A Mirage F1 aircraft based in Chad is called for air support and destroys several vehicles

March the 5th : several HALO jumpers (from the paratroopers commando group) land near the camp in order to help the Government forces to gain control of the situation.

March the 6th : Tens of paratroopers jump on the area. Their mission is to take back the landing zone, the rebels hadmade a mess of. He French were expecting heavy resistance, but soon they open the airstrip and the 1st Transall transport aircrafts from N’Djamena (Capital of Chad at 900 km from birao) can land. A whole comapny of paratroopers from the (3rd RPIMA, régiment parachutiste d’infantrie de marine) get off the planes along with government troopers.

Around 150 French troopers are still deployed in Birao. The bodycount is not easy : no French victim but at least 6 dead and 18 injured among the government forces. The number of dead among the rebels remains unknown.