1990

Operation in Gabon

The campaign initiated by France aimed to protect the 20,000 French citizens residing in Gabon amidst a period of unrest and looting following the suspicious death of Gabonese opposition figure Joseph Renjambé from the Gabonese Progress Party (GPP).

According to Foreign Minister Roland Dumas, the operation was France’s response to a plea for assistance from French residents in Gabon.

According to Le Monde, the French Ambassador to Gabon was in contact with both the government of Gabon and the leaders of the GPP at that time, encouraging them to resume dialogue. 

- During the operation, the majority of the 2,500 French residents in Port- Gentil, where the operations of French oil company Elf was concentrated, were repatriated or placed under the protection of the French army.

- The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown.

Operations in Rwanda

Operation Noroit (October 4, 1990 – December 1993)

Initiated by France at the request of President Juvénal Habyarimana to halt the advance of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, and officially justified as protecting French citizens residing in the country.

While French forces largely withdrew from the country in 1993, before the genocide of the Tutsi began in 1994, France actively collaborated with Rwandan forces that later perpetrated the genocide. This included providing advice to the general staff and training special units such as the presidential guard and civil defence units.

In 1992-1993, France concurrently supplied the Rwandan armed forces with pistols, machine guns, artillery, anti-personnel mines, and ammunition.

- France continued to support the Rwandan authorities until the end, without making sufficient efforts to prevent genocide, and subsequently demonstrated ineffectiveness in the face of the already ongoing bloodshed, which claimed the lives of over 800,000 people.

Operation Volcan (February 10, 1993)

Evacuation of 67 individuals trapped in the combat zone in the city of Ruhengeri, including 21 French citizens.

Operation Chimère (February 22 – March 28, 1993)

As part of the operation, French military instructors provided guidance and training to the Rwandan armed forces in their struggle against the Rwandan Patriotic Front. This included instructions on artillery aiming, mining techniques, and other skills.

Furthermore, from February to March 1993, the French established a comprehensive system of identity checks using patrols and checkpoints throughout the country to support the Rwandan armed forces.

Operation Amaryllis (April 8-14, 1994)

French citizens and other foreigners, including the family of the assassinated President Juvenal Habyarimana, were evacuated from Rwanda.

However, the operation prioritised their evacuation, disregarding the unfolding atrocities in the country and neglecting the possibility of evacuating local residents, leaving them vulnerable. Tutsis seeking refuge were turned away from the French Embassy, effectively shutting them out from seeking safety.

Amid these events, in 1994, before the arms embargo was declared on May 17 of that year, France provided heavy artillery, machine guns, and ammunition to the Rwandan armed forces. General Christian Quesnault estimated the total cost of these supplied weapons at 54.8 million francs in a note addressed to the French President dated June 25, 1994.

Operation Turquoise (June 22 – August 21, 1994)

The operation was conducted under UN Security Council Resolution 929, which was adopted on June 22, 1994, at the initiative of France. This resolution granted France and other countries the authority to use any necessary means for two months to protect the civilian population and facilitate their access to food aid.

However, French troops remained inactive during the massacre that took place in the country. For instance, despite being alerted on June 23, 1994, about Tutsi survivors hiding in the Bisesero Hills area, approximately 400 of them were killed between June 27 and June 30, 1994.

September 28,1995 – October 3,1995

Operation Azale? on the Comoro Islands

This operation, similar to Operation Oside in 1989 in the Comoros, was conducted against the mercenaries led by Bob Denard, who had once again seized control of the country following a coup.

The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown. 

March 20, 1997 – May 3, 1997

Operation Pelikan in Congo

France conducted the operation amidst ongoing clashes in the country between supporters of President Denis Sassou Nguesso and former President Pascal Lissouba. Its primary objective was to evacuate 6,000 foreigners, including 1,500 French nationals.

According to Raymond Césaire, who served as the French ambassador to Congo at the time, “the Congolese authorities initially permitted France and other countries to utilise the evacuation mechanism. However, “the goodwill of the Congolese government was quickly constrained by its inability to control its own territory.”

The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown. 

France’s operations in Côte d'Ivoire

Operation Licorne in Côte d'Ivoire (September 22, 2002 – January 21, 2015)

France conducted the operation in accordance with a 1961 agreement on technical military cooperation. This agreement allowed French citizens to serve in the armed forces of Côte d'Ivoire and permitted the deployment of French military personnel to the country for training, consultation, and leadership of the Ivorian military.

France intervened in response to deteriorating security conditions in the country, initially to protect French citizens residing there. The intervention later expanded to include efforts to separate the parties involved in the ongoing conflict in Côte d'Ivoire: President Laurent Gbagbo’s loyal Ivorian army and the northern rebels supporting his opponent Alassane Ouattara.

The operation began with the deployment of 600 soldiers to Yamoussoukro, who had been stationed in the suburb of Port-Bouet in Abidjan since 1978. This included the 43rd Marine Battalion, which was tasked with ensuring the safety of 16,000 French nationals in the capital.

In late 2004, amidst escalating tensions in the country – government army offensives against rebel positions, bombings targeting French soldiers in Bouaké, and protests by supporters of Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan – France’s military presence peaked. Subsequently, it gradually decreased, and by 2015, Operation Licorne gave way to the French Forces in Côte d'Ivoire, underpinned by a defence partnership agreement signed in 2012. 

- In early November 2004, the Licorne contingent of the French armed forces opened fire on supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo, out of concern that they might reach the French military base near the Felix- Houphouet-Boigny International Airport in Port Bouet, Abidjan. According to local authorities, 57 civilians were killed and more than 2,000 wounded.

(Côte d'Ivoire : ouverture à Paris du procès sur le bombardement de Bouaké; TV5MONDE;)

Elimination of the Ivorian Air Force in response to an airstrike on the French military stationed in Bouaké (2004)

An airstrike carried out by two Su-25 fighter aircraft of the government army during Operation Dignité against the rebels killed 9 and wounded 37 French soldiers.

- In response, General Henri Poncet, the commander of the Licorne forces, gave the order to destroy both Su-25s. After this, the French forces completely destroyed the Ivorian air force and took control of the Abidjan airport.

France’s role in the post-electoral crisis in Côte d'Ivoire (April 2011)

After the 2010 presidential election, where the UN and France recognised Alassane Ouattara as the winner, despite official claims of victory by Laurent Gbagbo, the situation in the country deteriorated. Despite Gbagbo’s order for UN peacekeepers to leave, on December 10. 2010, the UN Security Council extended the UN Mission’s mandate until June 30, 2011, through Resolution 1975. The resolution also called on Ivorian parties to honour the electorate’s choice of President Ouattara.

 Acting primarily through air strikes, the French supported the rebel offensive in late March and early April 2011. The disabling of heavy enemy weapons using Licorne helicopters – ostensibly to protect civilians – actually significantly accelerated the offensive of anti-government forces.

On April 11, 2011, Laurent Gbagbo was arrested. 

- The actions of the French in Côte d'Ivoire, which, according to official representatives, were within the UN mandate, were aimed at overthrowing the government of their former colony and, in fact, constituted gross interference in the internal affairs of the country.

- According to French representatives, the arrest of President Gbagbo was carried out by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire with the support of France and the UN. However, sources close to the Ivorian leadership reported that the operation was carried out by French special forces, who then handed over the detained president to the rebels. In addition, it was reported that the official residence of the president was attacked by the Licorne forces helicopters and partially destroyed. According to the official representative of the President Ahoua Don Mello, the purpose of France’s actions was to kill Laurent Gbagbo.

- The total number of deaths during the military operations in March-April 2011 is estimated at 3,000 people. Among them, about 1,000 residents of Duekoué died, presumably as a result of the actions of supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara.

- The exact number of civilian casualties from the actions of UN forces and French troops remains unknown. 

June 2003

Operation Artemis in Congo

The military operation took place in Ituri Province amid conflicts between local groupings. Its objective was to safeguard refugee camps, Buna airport, the civilian population, as well as UN and humanitarian personnel. The primary goal was to stabilise the situation in the region to support the UN Stabilisation Mission in the DRC.

France participated as part of a broader EU operation conducted under a UN mandate. Multinational forces were deployed to the country until September 1, 2003, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution No 1484 dated May 30, 2003.

- The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown.

March 19, 2011 – March 31, 2011

Operation Harmattan in Libya  

The French armed forces participated in the international coalition operation in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

- France and Great Britain took advantage of China and Russia’s neutral stance during the UN Security Council vote to pass Resolution1973. The resolution authorised member states to take “all necessary measures” to protect Libya’s civilian population and establish a no-fly zone. However, it was later interpreted as a pretext for armed intervention in the country’s internal affairs and the overthrow of its legitimate authorities.

- The NATO operation in Libya, ostensibly aimed at protecting civilians, ultimately resulted in the collapse of the country’s state institutions. This marked the beginning of a prolonged period of military and political crisis, economic devastation, and the escalation of activities by radical Islamist groups. Libya has since become a focal point of instability and a significant source of security threats in the region.

- Due to NATO airstrikes between March and October 2011, as reported by Amnesty International in March 2012, 55 civilians, including 16 children, lost their lives. Le Nouvel Obs magazine suggested that the actual death toll might exceed 70, with many victims perishing in their homes while asleep.

- According to TASS data from January 2022, between 20,000 to 50,000 people lost their lives during the internal armed conflict, with over 740,000 fleeing the country out of a population of six million.

- According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 800,000 people in Libya needed humanitarian assistance in 2022.

1.  Le Nouvel Obs, LIBYE. Ces morts que l'Otan ne veut pas voir, Par Sarah Halifa-Legrand, Publié le 20 decembre 2011;

2. Amnesty International, LIBYELES VICTIMES OUBLIÉES DES FRAPPES DE L'OTAN

France’s operations in Sahel

Operation Serval in Mali (January 11, 2013 – July 14, 2014)

Launched by France at the request of the Malian authorities on January 11, 2013, the operation aimed to combat terrorist groups advancing towards the capital of Bamako.

- The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown.

Operation Barkhane in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Niger (August 1, 2014 – November 9, 2022)

The operation targeted Islamist terrorist groups in the Sahel region, replacing the Serval operation.

It was conducted under defence agreements with several governments, including the defence cooperation agreement between France and Mali, signed on July 16, 2014.

According to Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, the operation was conducted within the framework of a partnership among Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Niger, all members of the G5 Sahel established in February 2014.

- The actions of the French armed forces in Mali resulted in the deaths of at least 43 civilians and injuries of five others.

- One notable incident occurred on January 3, 2021, when French aircraft attacked the village of Bounty during a wedding ceremony attended by over a hundred local residents, resulting in 22 deaths.

- In February 2022, the actions of the French army in Burkina Faso resulted in the deaths of four civilians.

1. Anadolu Turkish News Agency; Mali : 43 civils tués par la force française Barkhane depuis 2018 (Médias); Lassaad Ben Ahmed; 

2. UN documents

- Despite being conducted with the consent of the Mali authorities and aimed at combatting the terrorist groups active in the region, France’s operations in the Sahel did not eliminate the Islamist threat in the country. Furthermore, these operations increasingly resulted in civilian casualties, including deaths caused by French soldiers.

- Citing the unsatisfactory outcomes of Operations Serval and Barkhane, the Mali government demanded the immediate withdrawal of French troops from the country. Additionally, they terminated the Franco-Malian defence agreement signed in 2014 and withdrew from the G5 Sahel alliance.