Bulo Marer hostage rescue attempt
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

On 11 January 2013, the
French military The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...
launched an unsuccessful operation in
Bulo Marer Bulo Marer ( so, Buulo Mareer), also written as Bulomarer, is a town in the southwestern Lower Shebelle region of Somalia. It was a base of Al-Shabaab, and was the site of an ill-fated 2013 military operation during which French commandos attempt ...
,
Lower Shabelle Lower Shabelle ( so, Shabeellaha Hoose, Maay: ''Shibelithy Hoosy'', ar, شبيلي السفلى, it, Basso Scebeli) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southern Somalia. Geography Lower Shabelle is bordered by the regions of Banaadir ...
,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
to rescue French hostage Denis Allex from the militant Islamist organization al-Shabaab. Allex was executed in response, and two French commandos, at least 17 Islamist militants and at least eight
civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...
s were killed in the firefight.


Background

Denis Allex and Marc Aubrière were deployed to
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...
, Somalia in 2009 by the French Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) to train soldiers from the
Transitional Federal Government The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) ( so, Dowladda Federaalka Kumeelgaarka, ar, الحكومة الاتحادية الانتقالية) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Republic of Somalia from 14 October ...
. On 14 July 2009, both men were
kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
ped from the hotel at which they were staying by armed men impersonating police. The captors loaded the men into a truck and left the hotel, but later the truck broke down. While the truck was incapacitated, the captors were confronted by members of
Hizbul Islam Hizbul Islam ("Islamic Party"), also known as Hizbul Islaami, Hisbi Islam, or Hezb-ul Islam, was a Somali Islamist group formed after four Islamist groups merged to oppose the new Somali government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. The four gr ...
, a Somali Islamist militia, who demanded custody of the hostages. The two men were then taken away by fighters from Hizbul Islam and later Allex was transferred to the allied militia, al-Shabaab. On 25 August 2009, according to his version of events, Aubrière, who was being held in Mogadishu, escaped from his captors in the middle of the night while they slept. He then walked for five hours to the
Somali government The Government of Somalia (GS) ( so, Dowladda Soomaaliya, ar, حكومة الصومال الاتحادية) is the internationally recognised government of Somalia, and the first attempt to create a central government in Somalia since the colla ...
compound in the city and, from there, was transported back to France. However, Aubrière's account was disputed by many
Somalis The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...
as being improbable and it was suggested by them that his release was secured after the
French government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
paid a ransom; they said they did not. US and French technical and
human intelligence Human intelligence is the intellectual capability of humans, which is marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness. High intelligence is associated with better outcomes in life. Through intelligence, humans ...
teams, including a US Army
Special Mission Unit The term Tier One Special Mission Unit or Special Missions Unit (SMU) is a term sometimes used, particularly in the United States, to describe some highly secretive military special operations forces. Special mission units have been involved in ...
specialized in signals intelligence, and
U-28A The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ad ...
surveillance flights from
Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
were immediately deployed in an exhaustive effort to locate the hostage. Somali assets recruited by the DGSE identified several locations where the agent had been; the agent was constantly moved by the terrorists mainly because of the fighting between al-Shabaab and African Union troops. US and French satellites and unmanned
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
flights monitored the hostage's location for several months as operators from DGSE Division Action unit planned the rescue mission. In December 2012, when news reached the DGSE that the hostage's health was deteriorating,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
François Hollande ordered the DGSE Division Action to prepare to carry out a previously opposed hostage rescue mission. The DGSE sent a 50-man Close Quarter Battle Group of the Division Action (known as CPIS) to
Camp Lemonnier Camp Lemonnier is a United States Naval Expeditionary Base, situated next to Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport in Djibouti City, and home to the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) of the U.S. Africa Command (USAFRI ...
where they trained for the mission with a small team of United States Navy SEALs from Red squadron,
DEVGRU The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...
. In addition to the latest intelligence from Somali agents, the US also provided surveillance assets, including a JSOC Predator UAV based at Camp Lemonnier and air cover from both AC-130 Spectres and an
RQ-4 Global Hawk The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft of the 1990s–2020s. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman), and known as Tier II+ during development. The ...
UAV during the mission itself.Neville, Leigh, '' Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military)'', Osprey Publishing, 2015 , p.293-294


Operation

At around 2:00a.m. local time on 11 January 2013, 50 French Special Forces from the DGSE's highly secretive direct-action unit called " Division Action" supported by EC-725 Caracal helicopters dispatched from the ''Mistral'',Le Mistral au coeur de la tentative de libération de Denis Allex en Somalie
''Mer et Marine''
assaulted an al-Shabaab position in
Bulo Marer Bulo Marer ( so, Buulo Mareer), also written as Bulomarer, is a town in the southwestern Lower Shebelle region of Somalia. It was a base of Al-Shabaab, and was the site of an ill-fated 2013 military operation during which French commandos attempt ...
, Somalia, where Denis Allex was believed to be held. A fierce firefight lasting 45 minutes ensued and in the process 17 al-Shabaab fighters and two French soldiers were killed. The French Special Forces later abandoned the operation. The French military believes that members of al-Shabaab executed Allex during the operation. However, al-Shabaab claimed that Allex was still alive and in its custody. Additionally, the French military had reported that one soldier was missing; they were almost certain he was killed during the attack. Al-Shabaab claimed that it had captured the missing soldier, left lying wounded on the ground during the firefight, despite also releasing photographs of the dead soldier. In addition to the military casualties, eight civilians were also reportedly killed during the operation, including a pregnant woman, with others being wounded. According to the French journalist , more than 70 Somali militiamen were killed and several dozen civilians were victims of a 'clean-up' carried out by French commandos to preserve the surprise effect of the operation.


Aftermath

On 13 January 2013, the Somali Federal Government held a
press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...
, where it condemned the Bulo Marer operation as unilateral and carried out without the knowledge or consent of the Somali authorities. The officials also extended their condolences to all casualties. The following day,
US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
indicated in a
War Powers Resolution The War Powers Resolution (also known as the War Powers Resolution of 1973 or the War Powers Act) () is a federal law intended to check the U.S. president's power to commit the United States to a ...
letter to
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
that
US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...
warplanes had entered Somali airspace in limited support of the French rescue operation. However, he stated that they did not use weapons during the raid. On 14 January 2013, al-Shabaab posted on their
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account a picture of the body of a white man in military uniform, describing him as the "leader" of the failed French commando raid in Somalia. The body was surrounded by captured military gear. This was confirmed to be the soldier missing in action. This soldier has yet to be identified. Three days later, Al-Shabaab announced, also through Twitter, that Allex had been executed in response to the French operation.


See also

*
Foreign hostages in Somalia The following is a list of known foreign hostages captured in Somalia, particularly since the start of the Ethiopian intervention and the 2009–present phase of the civil war. Australia Released (1) :*Nigel Brennan, was a photojournalist who ...
* Rescue of Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted


References

{{France–United States relations 2013 murders in Somalia 2013 mass shootings in Africa 2013 in international relations January 2013 crimes in Africa January 2013 events in Africa Battles in 2013 Terrorist incidents in Somalia in 2013 Al-Shabaab (militant group) activities Battles involving France Battles involving the United States Foreign hostages in Somalia Hostage rescue operations Mass shootings in Somalia Somali Civil War (2009–present) Directorate-General for External Security French intelligence operations France–Somalia relations France–United States military relations Somalia–United States relations Lower Shabelle