Operation Serval Operation Serval Operation Serval () was a French military operation in Mali. The aim of the operation was to oust Islamic militants from the north of Mali, who had begun a push into the center of Mali. Operation Serval followed the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2085 of December 20, 2012 and an official request by the Malian interim government for French military assistance. The operation ended on July 15, 2014, and was replaced by Operation Barkhane, launched on August 1, 2014 to fight Islamist fighters in the Sahel. Three of the five Islamic leaders, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, Abdel Krim
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War had conducted 5,240 sorties in Syria, including 145 sorties by long-range aviation. On 27 December 2015, Chief Commander of the Russian Aerospace Force Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev stated that Russian pilots had never once attacked civilian targets in Syria. On 30 December 2015, heavy fighting was reported as the Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes advanced into the southern city of Al-Shaykh Maskin, which had been held by the rebel Southern Front since the First Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin in December 2014. The Syrian government′s offensive operation that had started on 28 December 2015 and completed by the