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| - French troops who killed senior Al Qaeda leader Abdelmalek Droukdel in the Sahel region of Africa this week work alongside several allied military missions. Here is a roundup of anti-jihadist operations in the area. Operation Barkhane is the biggest French military operation abroad, with 5,100 troops. The forces are deployed across a Europe-sized band of the Sahel region, extending in August 2014 a previous operation dubbed Serval. Several European nations have sent reinforcements, including Denmark with two transport helicopters and 70 soldiers to fly and maintain them. Around 100 British soldiers and three transport helicopters have provided logistic services for Barkhane since July 2018. The United States provides surveillance and operations data via regionally-based drones and performs aerial refuelling and transports troops. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) deployed in July 2013, replacing an earlier mission created under the aegis of the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS. MINUSMA is a peacekeeping mission that involves around 13,000 UN "blue helmets" who are not there to conduct offensive operations. More than 200 soldiers have nonetheless died during their deployment. Germany has contributed 1,100 troops to the mission, and Britain has agreed to send 250 for a three-year period from this year. The G5 Sahel - Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger -a- decided in 2017 to move ahead with a project for a joint anti-jihadist force in the region. French President Emmanuel Macron backed the plan for a 5,000-strong force as a possible model for African countries to ensure their own security. It has struggled to get off the ground however, and still seeks a quarter of the 400 million euros ($450 million) pledged last year by donor countries, according to Macron's office. Cooperation between the various national contingents needs improvement and some troops have been accused of multiple human rights violations. On Wednesday, the force inaugurated a new headquarters near Bamako, two years after the previous one in central Mali was attacked. The European Training Mission in Mali comprises 620 military instructors from 28 European countries, whose job is to boost the poorly-trained and equipped Malian army. The Europeans are not supposed to engage in combat. EUTM Mali's mandate was extended in May 2018 for two years and trainees now include G5 Sahel troops. The European Takuba force is comprised of special operations troops who fight alongside Malian soldiers. It has just begun operations with around 100 troops, including Estonians and Swedes, the French defence ministry said Thursday. The Czech Republic is mulling a contribution of 150 airborne rapid-reaction soldiers, and other countries are also considering troop contributions. bur-dla/wai/har
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