Gorom-Gorom rescue operation

On May 1, 2019, French tourists Laurent Lassimouillas and Patrick Picque were kidnapped while visiting Pendjari National Park in Benin. Their Beninese tour guide, Flacre Gbedji, was found dead near his burnt-out vehicle, having been shot and disfigured. This attack marked the first jihadist assault of its kind in Benin. A South Korean national and an American national had separately been kidnapped roughly a month earlier in Burkina Faso.

According to the French General Staff, the kidnapping of the French tourists was organized by the Katiba Macina, a group based in Mali, but the abduction itself was carried out by militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), operating from eastern Burkina Faso. After seizing the hostages, the kidnappers retreated into Burkina Faso, intending to eventually hand the captives over to Katiba Macina in Mali. Over the following days, the group traveled roughly 350 kilometers toward the Malian border, largely by night through the bush.

French military intelligence (the Direction du renseignement militaire) launched intelligence operations immediately, supported by the United States and Burkinabe authorities. American intelligence services intercepted cell phone communications from the kidnappers, aiding efforts to track the group.

A broad rescue operation began across northern Burkina Faso on May 7, 2019, involving French Task Force Sabre and Operation Barkhane forces, along with drones and helicopters. Burkinabe troops offered logistical support along key routes, while American forces contributed a MQ-9 drone for surveillance.

When the kidnappers stopped moving on May 9, French commanders moved to launch a raid. The Special Operations Command, led by Laurent Isnard, received intelligence on the camp's location in the early afternoon and recommended an imminent assault. The plan was approved that evening by President Emmanuel Macron and General François Lecointre.

The raid was carried out near Gorom-Gorom in the Sahel Region by 24 soldiers drawn from Commando Hubert, the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment, and Air Parachute Commando No. 10. Troops were dropped roughly ten kilometers from the camp by helicopter before approaching on foot under drone surveillance. After a sentry spotted and was killed by the approaching soldiers, French forces assaulted multiple encampments simultaneously. Two French soldiers were killed during the fighting in separate encampments.

The raid succeeded in freeing all four hostages: the two French nationals, the South Korean national, and the American national, the latter two of whom had been held for 28 days. Four jihadist fighters were killed in the operation, while two others escaped.

The two French soldiers killed, Cedric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello, were honored with a national tribute in Paris on May 14, 2019, where they were posthumously promoted and awarded the Legion of Honour. The governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, the United States, and France issued statements acknowledging the operation and offering condolences. The freed French and South Korean hostages were received by President Macron following their return; the American hostage's identity was not publicly disclosed.