Operation Barkhane rebellion against the central Malian government was exploited by Islamist groups who gained control over the northern half of the country. In response, France launched a military operation in January 2013 to stop the Islamist offensive from toppling the Malian government and to re-capture Northern Mali. The operation, codenamed Operation Serval, ended in the complete re-capture of all Islamist held territory by the operations conclusion on the 15 July 2014. Following the end of Operation Serval, France recognised the need to provide stability in the wider Sahel region by helping the region's various governments combat terrorism. The French defense minister,
British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War as a result of the 1997 SDR and provide a headquarters staff at very high readiness to command an expeditionary operation at operational level. According to Richards, both were "thoroughly validated" and were vital in coordinating the large numbers of assets deployed at short notice and reporting back to the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood. A 2015 study in the "Journal of Strategic Studies" finds that the intervention in Sierra Leone was a success. British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War The United Kingdom began a military intervention in Sierra Leone on 7 May 2000 under the codename