A firefight within the Malian troops raises more doubt about the EU training mission

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) expressed serious doubts about the planned EU training mission for Mali. "There will be no sustainable stabilization of the country as long as there is no comprehensive reform of the entire security sector in Mali," said the STP's Africa-expert, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Tuesday. "Mali's army is not able to guarantee safety within the state, because there are internal conflicts and because the troops are underpaid, unpredictable and disrespective of Mali's constitutional bodies. It is an endeavor with an uncertain outcome to let these troops be responsible for state security."

Today and tomorrow, the EU Ministers of Defense will meet in Dublin and discuss the planned EU training mission. Germany, 15 other EU member states and Norway will participate in the operation which 70 European soldiers are preparing for in Mali since the end of last week. Germany will send 40 military trainers to the training mission in early March. In an interview, Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere stated that this mission would help to "stabilize the country significantly".

On Friday last week, it became clear once more that the Malian troops are far from being unified and powerful: Far off from the conflict areas in the north of the country, a firefight broke out between members of different army units. Three relatives of army personnel got killed – among them two teenagers – and 13 people were injured. The incident in Mali occurred on February 8, when armed forces besieged the military camp of the paratroopers as a form of protest. When relatives of the besieged soldiers protested against this action, the assailants opened fire on the protesters.

Early last week, it became clear that some of Mali's soldiers seem to have a strange understanding of the rule of law, when two people who had been arrested by French troops were set free again by Malian army officials. Originally, Baba Ould Sheik (a mayor of a town in northern Mali who is supposed to be involved in drug trafficking) and Mohamed Ould Awainat were originally supposed to be brought to the capital city, Bamako, for further criminal investigations. But – to the astonishment of the French troops who had handed over the detainees – the Malian soldiers set them free again on February 4. For years, the Malian army has been accused of being involved in drug trafficking deals with senior government officials and the terrorist movement "Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" (AQMI).

"If the mission is to be more than just a symbolic act, the EU countries must be more realistic about the preparation of the training mission in Mali," warned Delius. "A state that chooses to support the Malian army in its present condition – without solving the fundamental problems of these forces – will do nobody a favor." The Malian soldiers are putting their own reputation and public view at risk with their disgraceful behavior.