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,
Romanian military intervention in Bessarabia Romanian military intervention in Bessarabia The Romanian military intervention in Bessarabia took place between 10/23 January and 7/20 February 1918, as part of the broader Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. The Romanian Army, supported by local armed groups, emerged victorious and the former Russian imperial region of Bessarabia - having declared its independence as the Moldavian Democratic Republic - united with Romania later that year. On 2/15 December 1917, Moldavia proclaimed itself a constituent republic of the Russian Federative Democratic Republic. On 1/14 January 1918, the Front Section of the Rumcherod Bolsheviks entered Chișinău, the capital of the