Since 2009, Saber’s rear base has been in Kamboinsin near Ouagadougou. A camp for a staff of 400 soldiers. Kamboinsin is ideally located to radiate in the Sahelo-Saharan strip and more precisely in the area of the three borders, the epicenter of the fight against armed terrorist groups.
Reduction of the theater of operations
Since the end of Barkhane and the departure from Mali, the theater of operations has been considerably reduced: the French army has moved further east, to Niger. With Paris, Niamey has concluded an operational military partnership to act in a limited area, the Nigerien Liptako only.
Securing the border between Mali and Niger against incursions, in particular by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS), is the main mission. Two thousand French soldiers are stationed in Niger, and this workforce should not move despite the ongoing reorganization.
Logistical difficulty
Installing part of the special forces, a small contingent, in Niger’s Liptako would therefore make sense from an operational point of view. But the difficulty of this maneuver today is above all logistical: a month for such a move and especially repatriation of the bulk of the troops, it’s short… Too short say the experts.