The military manoeuvre, a biennial exercise of the Senegalese armies, is taking place in the north of the country from 26 November to 2 December 2022.
Hailed as an island of stability in a sea of insecurity, Senegal takes security threats in the sub-region very seriously.
Terrorist groups have settled in a large part of neighbouring Mali, forcing the Senegalese authorities to deploy colossal means in the east of the country.
In this preventive approach, the Senegalese authorities do not want to leave anything to chance about security in the north of Senegal, straddling the border with Mauritania.
It is in this sense that the 2022 military manoeuvre “Ferlo” is being conducted in an area between the regions of Louga, Saint-Louis and Matam, the Senegalese army said in a statement.
This explains the choice of the name “Ferlo,” which refers to a semi-desert sylvo-pastoral area in the north-east of Senegal, mainly made up of shrub and tree in open savannah and periodically subject to wildfires.
The drills consist of “a joint exercise involving several components of the army, air force and navy as well as support units,” the statement said.
“The main objective is to test the operational capabilities of the units involved and their ability to manoeuvre together in an operation to defend the national territory against a conventional enemy using hybrid modes of action,” it added, stressing that “significant human and material resources will be deployed for this purpose, including a military field hospital.”
In addition, the army’s Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIRPA) noted that the exercise will be used to organize free medical consultations in a military field hospital and donations of medicines and medical equipment to health posts in localities affected by the military drills, an integral part of the Army-Nation concept.
ODL/te/lb/as/APA