In the 2000s and 2010s, the VBL has also been used by French forces in Ivory Coast. Between 2002 and 2003, the VBLs and the ERC-90s armored cars opened fire on MPIGO rebels to block their incursions. They were later used in Abidjan during the operation to oust Laurent Gbagbo from power in April 2011. In Afghanistan, the VBL units protected Kabul Airport and logistics axes. In Mali, the VBLs were deployed in 2013 in the Operation Serval; in the subsequent Operation Barkhane, several soldiers crewing VBLs were killed by improvised explosive devices. The VBL was also used in the Central African Republic in 2013.