GAO: Based in Mali's inhospitable northern desert, French troops are waging an attritional campaign against a ghost-like, invisible enemy -- a master in the guerrilla art of hit-and-run.
More than two years after the French-led Operation Serval routed militants advancing on the capital Bamako, armed groups in the area are no longer able to carry out coordinated attacks.
"Since Serval they have suffered high attrition rates. They no longer have freedom of action on the ground," the mission's commander, Colonel Luc Laine, told AFP.
"They are scattered, they are watching us, invisible. Their actions are disjointed, unfocused. There is no common thread."
Shortly after 4:00 am (0400 GMT) on Friday, a rocket fired from a plateau overlooking Gao city fell on the nearby camp used by the United Nation's MINUSMA peacekeeping mission, causing no casualties but underlining the ever-present danger.
"That's what's hard. We're fighting against an invisible enemy," said Laine, who at home commands the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment, based in Frejus in the south of France.
"Their modus operandi is hit-and-run tactics. What is difficult is that we never see them, but we know they are watching us.
"The risk is that you let down your guard because, as you can't see anyone, you might be inclined to believe that they are not there. So you become less vigilant and therefore vulnerable."
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