French Soldiers In Heavy Combat Operations in The Central African Republic

Video footage shows French Soldiers in heavy combat with African rebels in the Central African Republic. The scenes were released by the French Ministry of Defense and show the French army during several combat operations that took place during Operation Sangaris. Operation Sangaris was a military intervention of the French military in the Central African Republic, from late 2013 till 2016. It was the seventh French military intervention there since the independence of the country in 1960. On 30 October 2016, France announced it officially ended Operation Sangaris. According to JeanVincent Brisset, senior researcher at Iris, the name refers to the African butterfly Cymothoe sangaris, and was chosen because butterflies are not dangerous, do not last very long, are considered pretty and are politically correct. In late 2012, President François Bozizé requested international aid from France and the US to fend off the Séléka, a rebel movement that had p