EUTM Mali ( eng. European Union Training Mission Mali ) is a European Union mission whose goal is to train the Malian army units and provide advice. The headquarters of the mission is located in the capital of Mali . Training is conducted in the town of Koulikoro , 60 kilometers northeast of Bamako.
Content
Mission Development
The request of the Malian authorities for assistance in the fight against separatists of the EU received in the fall of 2012. On October 15, 2012, the EU Foreign Affairs Council decided to support the Malian authorities and begin planning a mission [1] [2] .
On January 14, 2013, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, announced that due to the escalation of the conflict in Mali, she decided to urgently convene the EU Foreign Affairs Council to expedite the development of response measures [3] .
On January 17, 2013, the foreign ministers of all EU countries gathered in Brussels for talks. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Mali Hubert Coulibaly. It was decided to accelerate the deployment of the Malian military training mission. The head of the mission was appointed the French Brigadier General Francois Lecuntre . The number of instructors will be 250 people, about 150-200 more soldiers will be sent to the country to protect them. The duration of the mission is 15 months, the budget will reach 12.3 million euros [4] [5] .
Activity
On January 21, General Francois Lecauntre, together with technical specialists, arrived in Bamako [6] .
On February 18, the official launch of the mission took place [7] . In total, it was planned to train more than 2500 men, united in 4 battalions. On April 2, the training of the first unit consisting of 670 people began [8] [9] [10] . The soldiers called their battalion "WARABA" ("The Lion" in the language of Baman ). Their training was completed in July 2013 [11] . At the end of June, the training of the second battalion began [12] .
International Reaction
Mali’s Foreign Minister, Hubert Coulibali, praised the EU for providing assistance, adding that “all European countries support not only the actions of the French Foreign Minister, but also our actions on the ground.”
The head of the French Foreign Ministry, Laurent Fabius, did not hide his disappointment: “Perhaps other countries will decide to send military units to Mali, in addition to logistic support. But it remains their responsibility, we cannot force anyone to do it ” [13] .
The UN Security Council took note in resolution No. 2085 of the planned deployment of an EU mission to train and advise the Malian armed forces [14] .
Member of the European Parliament , co-chair of the Green - European Free Alliance group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, criticized the indecision and bureaucracy of the Europeans: “Madame Ashton, you said:“ We are concerned. ” Everyone says: "We", but there are only French soldiers. The French said: "We will give you orderlies, and you go and kill in Mali" " [15] .
Notes
- ↑ European Union military mission will help Mali in the fight against the Islamists (inaccessible link)
- ↑ EU launches military mission in Mali
- ↑ The EU Foreign Affairs Council will convene an emergency meeting - Ashton (inaccessible link)
- ↑ General Francois Lecantre will lead the EU mission to train the Malian army
- ↑ EU sends military instructors to Mali
- ↑ Head of EU mission in Mali to arrive in Bamako on Monday
- ↑ EU training mission in Mali launched
- ↑ EU to start training first batch of Mali soldiers
- ↑ Mali crisis: EU troops begin training
- ↑ Instructors from the European Union began training the army of Mali
- ↑ First battalion of EU-trained Mali soldiers ready for deployment
- ↑ EUTM starts training second Malian battalion (inaccessible link)
- ↑ EU foreign ministers back Mali mission
- ↑ The Security Council authorized the deployment of an African operation archived in Mali on February 28, 2013.
- ↑ EU debate over French support in Mali heats up