Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara
partof= the War on Terrorism


caption=
date=February 6, 2007 - ongoing
place= Sahara Desert, Libya
casus= September 11, 2001 attacks and Casablanca bombings
territory=
result=Conflict ongoing
combatant1=flagicon|United States United States
ALG
CHA
MAR
NIG
flagicon|Mauritania Mauritania
MLI
SEN
combatant2=
commander1=
commander2=
strength1=480 Americans; 250 Algerians; 200 Chadians; 20 Moroccans; 5 Nigerien; 3 Mauritanians; 1 Malian; 25 Senegalese medical doctors Total:959 troops and 25 medical doctors
strength2=>500 (al-Qaeda claim)
casualties1= 1 aircraft damaged, 1 US Special Forces operator died near Mali
casualties2=263 non-combat fatalities, 2 military jeeps destroyed

Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara (OEF-TS) is the name of the military operation conducted by the United States and partner nations in the Sahara/Sahel region of Africa, consisting of counterterrorism efforts and policing of arms and drug trafficking across central Africa. It is therefore part of the Bush administration's Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The goal of the missions is to drive terrorist threats away from the continent of Europe, thus, south and east of the Sahara.cite web
title=Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS)
url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oef-ts.htm
publisher=GlobalSecurity.org
accessdate=2007-02-06 ]

Joint Task Force Aztec Silence (JTF Aztec Silence) is the combined arms organization assigned to implement the missions and meet the goals of OEF-TS.Fact|date=August 2007 The JTF has been part of United States European Command (EUCOM). As of September 2007, with the announcement of the new United States Africa Command, the mission will fall under the responsibility of Africa Command.cite news
title=DoD Establishing U.S. Africa Command
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?id=2940
publisher=US Department of Defense
date=2007-02-06
accessdate=2007-02-06]

The Congress approved $500 million for the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative (TSCTI) over six years to support countries involved in counterterrorism against alleged threats of Al Qaeda operating in African countries, primarily Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Nigeria, and Morocco. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6336063.stm BBC News "US to get Africa command centre" 6 February 2007] ] This program builds upon the former Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI), which concluded in December 2004cite web
title=EUCOM: Operations and Initiatives
url=http://www.eucom.mil/english/Operations/main.asp
publisher=EUCOM
accessdate=2007-02-06 ] and focused on weapon and drug trafficking, as well as counterterrorism.cite web
title=Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI)
url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/pan-sahel.htm
publisher=GlobalSecurity.org
accessdate=2007-02-06 ] TSCTI has both military and non-military components to it. OEF-TS is the military component of the program. Civil affairs elements include USAID educational efforts, airport security, Department of the Treasury, and State Department efforts.cite web
title=Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS)
url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oef-ts.htm
publisher=GlobalSecurity.org
accessdate=2007-02-06 ] On September 12th while delivering food to Malian troops a US C-130 cargo plane was struck by machine gun rounds from suspected Turag rebels, no one was injured and the plane made it safely to its destination. So far, over 100 al-Qaeda militants have been killed by the hostile conditions of the Sahara Desert. On September 20, 2007 two military jeeps believed to be the miliants' were destroyed by Chadian troops near the Algerian border.

References

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/09/13/Mali.USplane.ap/index.html