When the soldiers reached the end of the road, they descended from their trucks and motorbikes and partially deflated the tyres to make it easier going across the soft terrain of eastern Mali.
The soldiers' mission was a familiar one: approach a village near the Nigerien border undetected and uproot Islamic State-affiliated militants suspected of killing 50 civilians in the area.
Game-changing tactics are sorely needed in the Sahel, where violent attacks across Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso increased eight-fold in 2015 to 2020, according to the United Nations. This has driven 2 million from their homes and left swathes of territory out of governments' control. The area near the Niger River is familiar to the militants, but to the French and Estonian troops it was a constantly shifting landscape of rocky outcrops, sand, grassland and swamps.
"Terrorists have a very developed network of informants, which we call 'doorbells', able to provide information on our actions," said the senior officer, who asked not be named.
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