Military history of France intervention in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi. The year after, France intervened in Mali during that country's civil war, as Islamist militants appeared to threaten the south after seizing control of the arid north. Changes in the government of France, including Socialist François Hollande becoming president in 2012 after years of center-right governance, have done little to alter Paris' foreign policy in Africa. Hollande also proposed French military involvement in the Syrian civil war in the wake of chemical attacks French intelligence reports linked to the forces of President Bashar al-Assad in mid-2013. France has encouraged military cooperation at an EU
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War urged investiagation of war crimes. On 15 October 2016, the aircraft carrier sailed from Kola Bay at the centre of a task group, which included the "Kirov"-class missile cruiser , a pair of s and other vessels, to deploy to the Mediterranean in support of Russian forces operating in Syria. "Admiral Kuznetsov"s jets were reported to be flying off the Syrian coast on 8 November. On 14 November, a MiG-29K crashed en route back to the carrier following a planned mission over Syria, while an Su-33 crashed, again while trying to recover to "Admiral Kuznetsov" following a sortie on 5