More questions than answers about Europe's training mission for Malian army

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands that – because the Malian Prime Minister Sheik Modibo Diarra resigned after being arrested – the planned European training mission for the Malian army should be put on hold immediately. "The European Union must now clarify if the soldiers who are supposed to be trained really believe in democratic principles and respect the internationally approved transitional government", said the STP's expert on questions regarding Africa, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Tuesday. The dramatic escalation of the political crisis in Mali shows that the latent tensions between the army and the government of the north-west African country must be settled before starting a European training mission. It would be a risk to begin an international military intervention, because Mali's army and government are hopelessly divided.

"Mali's armed forces are currently more of a security risk than being able to stand in for the constitution – not exactly a suitable partner for an international military intervention to try to end the terror reign of the radical Islamists in the north of the country," warned Delius. "It is strange that the European foreign ministers – who met in Brussels on Monday to agree on a EUTM mission in Mali – didn't even discuss any possible objectives and limits of the mission. There are more questions than answers to this matter. Are EU-soldiers supposed to accompany Malian army personnel in combat? What are the planned scopes of the defense-consultations for Mali? Why does the EU not insist on a complete reform of the security sector in Mali, when it is obvious that parts of the army are not willing to follow their own government?"

In the EUTM mission, around 250 soldiers from Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Slovenia are supposed to train four Malian battalions in anti-terror measures and to advise the Ministry of Defense in Mali. The country is to be supported in its effort to re-gain two-thirds of the national territory in northern Mali, which is being controlled by radical Islamic forces since the summer of 2012.

On Tuesday morning, the Malian Prime Minister Sheik Modibo Diarra had resigned after being arrested by soldiers who belong to the rebel leader Amadou Sanogo. On March 21, 2012, Sanogo had overthrown the elected President Amadou Toumani Touré, starting a political crisis that caused large areas to be occupied by Islamist rebels.