Green light for Mali mission

Foreign ministers from the European Union today agreed that the EU should send military trainers to Mali to support African-led efforts to regain control of territory seized by Islamists.

Under the proposal, drafted by the EU’s diplomatic service and approved by the EU’s 27 member states, EU defence forces would send 250 trainers to Mali to help develop the army’s control structure and train frontline forces.

The plan envisages that the mission would last a year. The soldiers are expected to be deployed early next year.

The African Union agreed last week (14 November) to send a 3,300-strong force to the country, with the largest contingent – around 600 troops – coming from Nigeria. The UN is due later this month to discuss a resolution supporting the deployment of the mission, AFISMA, for one year.

The intervention is a response to radical Islamists’ seizure of the north of the country this spring. They have pushed back both government forces and secular secessionist troops.

EU foreign ministers also pledged to provide Mali with humanitarian aid and promised to resume development aid.

The EU suspended development aid after soldiers ousted the government in March. The country has since embarked on a shaky return to civilian rule. The EU said today that it will gradually lift the suspension after a roadmap to civilian rule is agreed.

They also called for a “coherent and global strategy” to resolve Mali’s multiple crises, which affect its security, politics, and food supply. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected.

Over 1,500 Malian refugees are reported to have crossed into Algeria today.

Reports from the north of the country suggest that the Islamists are continuing to destroy cultural monuments and to apply a very harsh interpretation of sharia law.

The EU already also has a 50-strong mission in neighbouring Niger, to help strengthen counter-terrorism efforts.