page_title: Operation Barkhane
section_title: French forces
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Barkhane / Casualties / French forces
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Les GCP du 35e RAP rentre de mission
context_page_description: Operation Barkhane is an ongoing anti-insurgent operation started on August 1, 2014 which is led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's Sahel region. It consists of a roughly 5,000-strong French force, which is permanently headquartered in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad. The operation is lead in cooperation with five countries, and former French colonies, that span the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. These countries are collectively referred to as the "G5 Sahel".
  The operation is named after a crescent-shaped dune in the Sahara desert.
  The French military initially intervened in Mali in early 2013 as part of Operation Serval which successfully regained the northern half of the country from Islamist groups. Operation Barkhane is intended to act as a follow up to this success and has expanded the French military's operations over a vast area of the Sahel region. The operation has the stated aim of helping these countries' governments to maintain control of their territory while also preventing the region from becoming a safe haven for Islamist terrorist groups planning to attack France and Europe.
context_section_description: Prior to the beginning of Operation Barkhane, 10 French troops had been killed in Mali as part of Operation Serval. In the subsequent six years since the launch of Operation Barkhane in 2014, a further 37 French troops have died on operations, bringing the total number of French troops killed during the military intervention in Mali and the Sahel to 47. The vast distances of Operation Barkhane force's area of operations across the Sahel pose a significant challenge in dealing with French casualties, with wounded troops being possibly up to 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) from advanced medical aid. To overcome these challenges, the French military created helicopter-mobile medical teams which can rapidly carry out MEDEVAC missions and transport casualties to more advanced medical care. Between 2013 and 2016, French forces sustained 1,272 casualties which required MEDEVAC; of these casualties, 18.2% were wounded in action, 27.4% suffered trauma injuries and 46.6% were suffering from disease or sickness.
caption: French troops of the 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment (35e RAP) board a helicopter during a mission.
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