GAO, Mali—The fight against extremists in northern Mali has shifted from full-on combat to a phase of hide-and-seek with jihadists, who are outnumbered and avoid direct contact with French troops, the forces say.
The French Operation Serval, launched in 2012, pushed extremists from strongholds in Mali’s north. In Operation Barkhane, launched nearly a year ago, French forces have adopted new methods of routing out Islamic extremists, including surveying the desert using drones flying sometimes in 20-hour shifts.
