French soldiers based in Mali as part of the Army Special Forces Command were rapidly deployed to Burkina Faso on 15 January 2016 after jihadists launched a terrorist attack on Ouagadougou which killed 30 people.
In February, French forces killed a number of insurgent fighters in the north of Mali, including a number of high ranking foreign jihadists from AQIM.

On 12 April 2016, three French soldiers were killed when their armored personnel carrier struck a land mine.
The convoy of about 60 vehicles was travelling to the northern desert town of Tessalit when it hit the mine.
Another French soldier was killed on 4 November 2016 following the explosion of a mine near the town of Abeïbara, which made 2016 the deadliest year up to that point for French forces participating in Barkhane.

On 15 March 2017, French forces arrested eight jihadists in the desert north of Timbuktu.

On 5 April 2017, master corporal Julien Barbé, was killed in action near Hombori after an explosive device blew up an armoured vehicle.
He was posthumously made a knight of the Legion of Honour.
Heavy fighting between French forces and Jihadist groups continued into the summer of 2017, with 8 French soldiers being wounded by a mortar attack on their base in Timbuktu on 1 June.
On the night of 17 June, France suffered its tenth soldier killed during an airborne operation in the north-east of Mali.

On 4 October 2017, French forces operating as part of Barkhane were the first to respond to the ambush of American soldiers searching for an Islamic State commander on the Niger-Mali border.
French air support was requested by the Americans and two hours later Mirage fighter jets arrived from Niamey.
Despite the French pilots being unable to engage ground targets due to the proximity of friendly forces, the jets deterrence was enough to end the ambush.
A French special forces team were the first ground forces to reach the scene of the ambush, 3–4 hours after the firefight which resulted in the death of 4 American Green Berets.

On 14 October 2017, an Antonov An-26 aircraft operating in support of Operation Barkhane crashed shortly before landing at Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Four Moldovan flight crew were killed.
Two Moldovan flight crew and four French Army soldiers were injured.
French soldiers based in Mali as part of the Army Special Forces Command were rapidly deployed to Burkina Faso on 15 January 2016 after jihadists launched a terrorist attack on Ouagadougou which killed 30 people. In February, French forces killed a number of insurgent fighters in the north of Mali, including a number of high ranking foreign jihadists from AQIM.
On 12 April 2016, three French soldiers were killed when their armored personnel carrier struck a land mine. The convoy of about 60 vehicles was travelling to the northern desert town of Tessalit when it hit the mine. Another French soldier was killed on 4 November 2016 following the explosion of a mine near the town of Abeïbara, which made 2016 the deadliest year up to that point for French forces participating in Barkhane.
On 15 March 2017, French forces arrested eight jihadists in the desert north of Timbuktu.
On 5 April 2017, master corporal Julien Barbé, was killed in action near Hombori after an explosive device blew up an armoured vehicle. He was posthumously made a knight of the Legion of Honour. Heavy fighting between French forces and Jihadist groups continued into the summer of 2017, with 8 French soldiers being wounded by a mortar attack on their base in Timbuktu on 1 June. On the night of 17 June, France suffered its tenth soldier killed during an airborne operation in the north-east of Mali.
On 4 October 2017, French forces operating as part of Barkhane were the first to respond to the ambush of American soldiers searching for an Islamic State commander on the Niger-Mali border. French air support was requested by the Americans and two hours later Mirage fighter jets arrived from Niamey. Despite the French pilots being unable to engage ground targets due to the proximity of friendly forces, the jets deterrence was enough to end the ambush. A French special forces team were the first ground forces to reach the scene of the ambush, 3–4 hours after the firefight which resulted in the death of 4 American Green Berets.
On 14 October 2017, an Antonov An-26 aircraft operating in support of Operation Barkhane crashed shortly before landing at Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Four Moldovan flight crew were killed. Two Moldovan flight crew and four French Army soldiers were injured.
Operation Barkhane