<p>Giant cranes are dismantling prefab tents at a French military base in the Malian capital of Bamako.</p><br />More than a year after it was launched to oust Islamist militants from northern Mali, Operation Serval is packing up.<br />In a month's time, everything will be gone – including the French forces who have been based here since January 2013.<br />But the French army isn't leaving Mali altogether. In a massive reorganisation – or what critics call a case of “mission creep” – French forces are being redeployed across the Sahel, the inhospitable buffer zone between the Sahara and the African Savanna, which includes the border regions of Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Niger.<br />Operation Serval is giving way to Operation Barkhane. Named after a crescent-shaped sand dune, Operation Barkhane comprises a 3,000-strong French force spread across five countries in the most wide-ranging French military deployment since World War II.<br />In partnership with Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, the mission aims to fight the jihadist threat in one of the world’s most dangerous zones.<br />Operation Serval may have succeeded in wresting control of northern Mali, but the new, expanded military mission in the Sahel faces new challenges.<br />''The enemy is much more discreet than before. He used to confront us face-to-face. Now he's more diffuse. In other words, the enemy has changed his strategy. He has become much more mobile: small groups, using one or two pick-up trucks, or motorbikes. This makes our mission even more difficult,'' explained Commandant Attaher Maiga, head of the 33rd paratroopers regiment in the Malian army.<br />Operation Barkhane relies on regional militaries – including newly EU-trained Malian militar... Go on reading on our web site.<br />Visit our website:<br />http://www.france24.com<br /><br />Like us on Facebook:<br />https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English<br /><br />Follow us on Twitter:<br />https://twitter.com/France24_en
