GOSSI, August 13: The French soldiers seeking out jihadists in central Mali’s savannahs were prepared for the sandstorms, the thunderstorms, the lack of anything resembling a road and the need to tow vehicles whose wheels kept getting stuck in floodplain

PARIS, May 10: Two French soldiers were killed in a night-time rescue of four foreign hostages including two French citizens from the clutches of a militant group described as “terrorists” by the military.