Here’s how and why Italy will participate in the Takuba task force
What will be the Italian role in the Takuba operation in the Sahel? All the details in the in-depth analysis by Giovanni Martinelli
As revealed a few days ago by the French site «Forces Operations Blog», the achievement of full operation of the Italian military contingent deployed within the Takuba Task Force (TF) should be close at hand.
This is a significant milestone for a mission which, although numerically inconsistent, due to its intrinsic "quality" ends up being rather important; both for our Armed Forces and, in more general terms, for our country's commitment on the international scene. And to better explain the concept, it seems very appropriate to remember what we are talking about.
This Task Force is a multinational contingent created under the pressure of France in 2019 and destined to operate in the Sahel; more precisely, in the so-called "three borders" area between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, called Liptako-Gourma. However, if the mission was actually initiated by France alone, today it appears to be significantly participated by numerous other European countries.
Sahel therefore; an increasingly "hot" region, due to the strong presence of Islamic fundamentalist movements that have chosen the path of armed insurrection and terrorism. This is why in recent years various missions of a multinational nature and / or under the aegis of international organizations (such as the UN and the EU) have been launched in some of the countries of this same region; to which, in fact, Italy is not lacking its contribution.
Takuba therefore fits into this picture; characterized by its particular format, as it is entirely composed of departments of the Special Forces; therefore, a highly specialized and highly capable TF. Officially, then, its task is to provide consultancy, assistance and mentorship to local forces in the fight against terrorism, until they are able to operate autonomously.
In reality, given the extreme complexity of the operating theater and the specific capabilities of the departments employed, the hypothesis of operations directed against terrorism cannot certainly be excluded. As well as, more generally, the possibility of armed clashes with the various formations present in these areas. This explains why this operation in which our Armed Forces participate is as delicate as it is relevant.
In all this, however, a fact emerges; once again, the information from the ground comes from foreign news sites and not from official Italian sources; little understandably entrenched behind a sort of "information embargo".
Reconstructing the exact picture of our military engagement thus becomes more complicated. Officially, at least according to the "Government Resolution on participation in international missions" (the document that is presented annually to Parliament and which outlines the framework of our military engagement in the international arena) in 2021 the maximum number of authorized personnel was 250 units, with about 40 land vehicles available and up to a maximum of 8 helicopters.
In reality, our mission should be deployed today (after its departure in 2020) with a somewhat reduced format; because according to information circulated on the net, the military on the ground should be about 200 and, above all, only 4 aircraft should be deployed. Specifically, 2 A-129 Mangusta attack helicopters and as many CH-47F Chinook transport aircraft. With the latter to be considered to all intents and purposes the operational assets, however, particularly "valuable", given the peculiar characteristics of such a vast area of operations such as that of the Sahel.
Therefore, this 2022 could become an important year; because in light of the current guidelines of our country that indicate Sub-Saharan Africa as one of its areas of strategic interest, the full operation of the national device in Takuba and the planned strengthening of our presence in Niger could constitute fundamental junctions in the pursuit of objectives linked to a stabilization of the area. For which, however, greater clarity of purpose and transparency at all levels would also be desirable; starting, obviously, from politics.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/task-force-takuba-italia/ on Wed, 12 Jan 2022 06:42:30 +0000.