Operation Serval it had lost a few days earlier. French airstrikes appeared to stop the rebel advance to the south which prompted the intervention and destroyed an Ansar Dine command post near Konna. France asked the U.S. to speed up its contribution by sending drones to improve surveillance over the vast area of northern Mali. The Pentagon was reported to have studied the French request. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom announced that his country would lend logistical support to the operation. ECOWAS troops preparing to deploy to Mali also decided to move up their arrival date to January 14
Military leadership in the Afghan Civil War Military leadership in the Afghan Civil War The Civil War in Afghanistan (1978–present), also known as the "Afghan Civil War" and several other names, was a civil war in Afghanistan. The civil war started when the Communist Party of Afghanistan took all political power in Afghanistan on 27 April 1978. This event led indirectly to the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. Sergei Sokolov Valentin Varennikov Boris Gromov Babrak Karmal (PDPA) Mohammad Najibullah (PDPA) Abdul Rashid Dostum (PDPA) Burhanuddin Rabbani (Islamic State) Ahmed Shah Massoud † (Islamic State) Mohammed Fahim (Islamic State) Bismillah Khan (Islamic Republic) Tommy Franks (CENTCOM) John P.