Launch of Operation Serval — Key Events — Sahel

What happened

After a jihadist column pushes south toward Sévaré and the road to Bamako, France intervenes at Mali's request with airstrikes and a rapid ground force.

The intervention prevented the probable fall of the Malian state — but it froze, rather than solved, the questions of governance, legitimacy and the north's status that had produced the collapse.

Confidence: High

When11 Jan 2013

WhereKonna / Sévaré axis

KindMilitary

ArenaNorthern Mali / Azawad

Confidence: High Sources: Established historical record Methodology Corrections

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Connected records

4 records that this event names, or that name it — every one an explicit reference in a published record, nothing inferred from subject matter.

Participants1

Organisations this event records, with the role and confidence it states.

Operation Serval · atlasParticipanthigh confidence

Also named3

Where this fits

This is one entry in the Sahel timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.