This also frustrated the United Nations. Those who knew the situation understood that they were there for peacekeeping, but those who didn't might have thought they were there to get beaten up!
But without their sacrifices, there would only be more humanitarian crises in Kidard.
In this operation to clear out the Azawad Coordination Movement, they also had to establish smooth communication with the local Blue Helmets Stabilization Mission.
Similarly, UN personnel will also play a supervisory role to prevent situations where people from using your name for personal gain.
After all, the religion of the Tuareg people has been localized and modified, resulting in men wearing veils while women show their faces in public.
The only difference between militants and civilians is whether they are carrying guns or not; their clothing is equally frightening.
Just as Xia Yu and Henry were talking, a group of Tuareg militants wearing headscarves and veils gathered from Timbatuk toward Kidar.
Their pickup truck's bed was filled with wooden crates of various sizes, with Russian markings indicating that they were all Soviet-made portable anti-aircraft missiles.
During the time when Gaddafi was in power, the Libya arsenal had 20,000 portable anti-aircraft missiles on its books.
Besides those that were used, 5,000 of these missiles were tracked down and destroyed after the regime's collapse, but a significant number were lost during the war.
The Tuareg mercenaries in Libya, in addition to the weapons and equipment issued by the army back then, were also fortunate enough to inherit a secret arms depot left by Gaddafi for his comeback.
They have 500 portable anti-aircraft missiles alone.
However, most of them are the old-fashioned Arrow-2 series, with only a little over 100 Needle and Needle-S combined.
The old-fashioned aircraft can't beat the French, but it can easily bully the government forces' primary training aircraft and helicopters.
Of course, you can also sell them to recoup funds. A refurbished Arrow-2M can easily fetch 30,000 to 50,000 dollars, while the Needle series starts at 100,000.
However, their stronghold of Kidal ran into trouble, resulting in the loss of a number of men and equipment. To make matters worse, both the Malian and government forces showed unusual activity, with troops gathering in northeastern Mali.
This won't do. We must summon our elite troops back to reinforce them. We absolutely cannot let these invaders hinder their establishment of Azawa Germany.
Based on this alone, it is not an exaggeration to call the Tuareg people Afika Kurds.
Looking back at history from a few decades ago, the root cause was that when the colonizers could no longer maintain their rule, they failed to properly divide the land in their colonies in order to lay landmines.
This is also why there are so many straight lines on the border of Mari on the map.
The Tuareg people's territory was intentionally divided among several countries, and what was once a relatively large tribe became an absolute minority in each country.
The colonizers had set a trap, and none of the countries were willing to give up the land they had acquired. Let bygones be bygones!
The government forces have absolute strength, so the past is the past. The problem is that they are so weak that people are not convinced!
So they started fighting, and the situation gradually evolved into what it is now: the entire Sahel region is in complete chaos, with not only separatist armed groups but also extremist organizations and various armed groups.
As the owner of a PMC company, Xia Yu's stance is firm: they earn their rewards by maintaining regional peace, rather than acting as some high-and-mighty arbitrator, judging justice and evil.
In the Middle East, is Lao Mei's support for the Kurds truly for the sake of upholding justice?
No, they're just using each other. Once they're done, they'll throw each other away like toilet paper. In the end, they'll still have to live in Syria.
Only by dismantling the Azawad Coordination Movement, pacifying the civilians of Tuareg, and clearing out extremist groups and bandits within the country can Mari achieve genuine development, rather than just temporary peace.
It's definitely impossible for the British to do this, but with the decline of their homeland in various aspects, it's still a question of how many years Operation Barkhane can be sustained. They will withdraw to Europe like the British.
"The situation has been clarified. The other party is a private military contractor called Jihuo Defense. They previously cooperated with the military to eliminate the Nasser independence movement, and this time they are targeting us."
In the city of Kedar, a tall, thin Tuareg youth slipped into a low mud house in a corner and spoke to an elder drinking tea inside.
"Thank goodness, it was these people!"
The elder was puzzled as to why the previous sneak attack had turned into a annihilation battle. Then he realized that the other party was the ruthless company that had wiped out both the Nasser base faction and the Ace faction.
He remembered clearly what happened in the Auga region and Niger, and was glad that the concentrated fire defense was not targeting them. Little did he know that this year they would become lambs to the slaughter.
So, should we evacuate from Kidal?
No, they won't withdraw, even if the enemy focuses their fire on them.
With an entire arsenal of weapons and equipment, even the Germans couldn't do anything to them, let alone a PMC company.
"Has that batch of Arrow-2M anti-aircraft missiles been refurbished?"
The elder asked his deputy beside him.
They are indeed nomadic people in the desert, but they have been engaged in the lucrative caravan trade for centuries, buying and selling gold, spices, and slaves, and their tribe has a considerable number of bright young men.
They sold their livestock to raise money to send them to North Africa to study at university. After graduation, some stayed abroad to help run businesses, while others returned to their tribes to contribute their wisdom and labor.
For equipment with complex operations, such as rocket launchers and howitzers, their team is responsible for everything from use to maintenance, and they personally handle the refurbishment of missiles.
"A total of 100 units were used. The thermal batteries, cooling cylinders, and propellant were all replaced, and they are now all in normal working order."
"Including the Igla and Igla-S, there are a total of 125 launchers and 150 missiles."
The elder continued to ask.
The Arrow-2m is a single-use item and cannot be reloaded. The Needle series, with its higher specifications, only comes in 25 sets and 50 rounds, and is used to finish off enemies after a saturation attack.
"Yes, the problem with Nasser al-Qaeda is that they have too few portable air defense missiles and not enough anti-tank missiles either."
The deputy affirmed, pointing out Bermukhtar's mistake.
He looked down on these petty extremist organizations.
"That should be enough. If their helicopters dare to come to Kidal, they should be prepared to not return."
The elder breathed a sigh of relief and said confidently.
"And the ground troops that wiped out our convoy were supposedly the Germans' new infantry fighting vehicles, which are even more powerful than their original Weasel."
The deputy added.
He specifically called his son in Europe to inquire about the relevant data, but those were the specifications for the KF-31 Lynx; the KF-41 Giant Lynx hadn't been made public yet!
"Our AT-3s shouldn't be able to penetrate their tanks. Let's concentrate our fire on their infantry fighting vehicles, and let our Mi-31s take care of the tanks!"
The elder pondered for a moment before speaking.
The arsenal contains relatively new models of portable air defense missiles, and a large number of AT-3 anti-tank missiles and a small number of Milan anti-tank missiles.
Of the six female stags, two were beyond repair and were used as spare parts for the other four.
There were a total of 12 T-62 tanks, but they didn't use any of them; instead, they sold half of them one after another.
Tanks in the desert are easy prey for attack helicopters; once they're out there, they're sitting ducks. The Tiger missiles of the Germans are useless against them; their machine guns can easily tear apart the T-62s.
Therefore, these tanks could only be sold to Libya, which was still fighting a civil war, and they could not use them themselves.
Similarly, their doe is also a powerful tool for opening tanks in concentrated fire defense.
Once the enemy's Mi-25s and Tigers are destroyed by man-portable air defense systems, their relatively outdated Mi-25s can seize the opportunity to sweep through their ground forces.
Yes, the Mi-25 is also called the Hind, or rather, the export version of the Mi-24D.
Like the Mi-24V, it uses a machine gun turret. Although it does not have the anti-tank missiles in its arsenal, it can be equipped with four rocket pods and air-to-ground rockets with hollow explosive warheads, providing direct fire coverage.
And so, with the matter settled in Nirilya, as Hans and his men set off for Marie, the Azawad Coordination Movement formally began discussing how to deal with the concentrated fire defense and the Haired People.
As for the government forces
They didn't take them seriously at all, after all, hundreds of years ago these black devils' ancestors were sold to the Ottomans as eunuchs.
Even today, their intelligence is still low, and over the years, thousands of them have been wiped out.
Caught between separatist armed groups, extremist organizations, and armed groups, the relatively small Marie Army suffered a dismal casualty rate.
Thanks to the high birth rate and widespread hunger, there was a steady stream of soldiers, but they were just as much of a drain on resources.
The government forces were assigned to two battalions and one company to cooperate with the Germans and concentrate fire defense, totaling more than 1,200 people. It was impossible for them to be responsible for the main attack direction; they could stay on the periphery to provide support.
The real main force will be concentrated fire defense, with the 18 VBCI infantry fighting vehicles of the Germans guarding the two flanks after entering the city.
Two platoons of the village protection team moved with the official employees, while the remaining two platoons and Busa's two artillery crews stayed behind to provide artillery support at any time.
Unfortunately, attack helicopters have too short a range; once they run out of ammunition, they have to retreat, while ground troops have to advance block by block.
Honestly, it's only in Afika. The mud-brick houses are at most two stories high. In the complex urban warfare environment of Syria, concentrated fire defenses can't just rush in like that.
"Buzz"
A long convoy appeared on the border, consisting of two-trailer heavy trucks, each with one heavy truck and one BTR-82S trailer.
The village protection team's two mechanized infantry platoons are mainly equipped with six large eight-wheeled vehicles, which don't look as technologically advanced or aesthetically pleasing as the VBCI.
However, with the addition of armor plating and slat armor, the second-line force is still quite effective. The upgraded 20mm main gun can easily and pleasantly kill pickup trucks at long range.
The question now is, how many armed pickup trucks do the Tuareg have?
"About 200 to 300 vehicles, that's the data from Kidal. The entire Azawad Coordination Movement has about 1,000 pickup trucks."
In the simple meeting room, Henry spoke first.
"The locals are making a killing; Afica's pickup trucks are more popular than tanks."
Xia Yu shook his head and sighed.
For every Toyota pickup truck he destroyed, another one that had just been "scrapped" would arrive at the port of Afica, change hands a few times, and then be destroyed again by government forces and extremist groups.
No wonder Japanese cars are so expensive. Even if new energy vehicles blow up sedan sales in the future, pickup trucks will remain popular. There is genuine demand in third-world countries.
“Aside from the fact that the protection is not very good, pickup trucks are undoubtedly the best means of transportation in Afica, especially in the desert areas.”
Henry continued.
“I heard that the Tuareg people gather all their pickup trucks together for a parade, but our drones and satellites have never captured such footage.”
"If you could capture that, you wouldn't need to hire us; you could just launch a carpet bombing campaign."
Xia Yu said, already having a mental image of what was going on.
With specific coordinates or an area of approximately a few square kilometers, drones and WeChat-based focused reconnaissance are very effective.
But the vast Sahara Desert, like a boundless ocean, makes any target difficult to track.
"That's true. Our MQ-9 has been conducting reconnaissance over the city for several days. There are around 1,000 vehicles in Kidal, and nearly 80% of them are for maintaining the operation of the entire town."
Henry continued his explanation.
"So after the fighting started, these vehicles will take more than 10,000 civilians away immediately, and the rest will either leave Kidal on foot or go to the blue helmet base to establish refugee camps."
The Tuareg people don't take hostages, but it's possible that some civilians might be reluctant to leave their few mud houses and wouldn't run away even when shelling is fired.
"Yes, it still relies on precision bombing. Have your company's fighter jets been deployed?"
"They all arrived in Oga last night and can begin ground bombing within three days."
Xia Yu gave an affirmative answer.
Three fighter jets—two F-16s and one F-4K—each capable of carrying 12 GBU-12 missiles, were deployed to bomb beyond the range of man-portable air defense systems.
The Japanese themselves will also deploy two Mirage-2000Ds, each carrying eight GBU-12 missiles, for joint operations.
Use your own fighter jets sparingly, but put others' in beast mode. However, a round of 52 laser-guided bombs can precisely eliminate 52 mud houses in the city of Kidal.
If bombed continuously for a week, that would be 364 buildings, which could kill or injure at least 500 to 1,000 enemy soldiers.
As for compensation, guided bombs cost tens of thousands of euros each, and even if the French are stingy, they are still willing to pay a thousand or so euros per building.
If personnel were not deployed, and tens of thousands of earthen houses in Kedar were simply blown up, the entire budget for this clearing operation would not be enough to cover the costs.
So the bombing will last at most a week, and then we'll have to advance from the ground and drive the Azawad Coordinating Movement out through street fighting.
"No rush, let's schedule the formal combat operation for a week from now! We'll use this week to mark all the planned targets."
Henry talked about target marking.
All five fighter jets used for ground attack were equipped with laser targeting pods, allowing them to bomb without needing to guide the squads into the battlefield for real-time illumination.
However, targets need to be marked in advance in the combat briefing; otherwise, like the Mirage-2000D that was shot down in Niger, it will be unable to distinguish between friendly forces and targets, and can only frighten people by flying low and high speeds.
As a result, they were defeated by Starlight.
Marking and assigning tasks in advance is a professional and efficient approach.
The details, like how to mark the details, are what drones do.
The Americans deployed two MQ-9 Reapers this time, first marking the suspicious areas, and then specifying each bombing coordinate.
After a week of continuous work, the drone department completed the marking of 200 targets.
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