European military instructors have started training of Malian army soldiers 0304134.

Defence & Security News - Mali

Mali’s foreign minister Tieman Coulibaly said the EU training would be key in allowing France to withdraw its troops from the country.

The first of 570 Malian troops were due to arrive in Koulikoro, 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the capital Bamako, to train under European instructors as part of a wider effort to bring the army up to scratch as quickly as possible.

"Initially, the training will be very general. Afterwards, there will be a specialised training in telecommunications, artillery and engineering," Lieutenant-Colonel Philippe de Cussac, spokesman for the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM), said.

Around 200 trainers will come from France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Ireland, de Cussac said.

Around half of the estimated 6,000 remaining Malian troops will train over the next year with the EUTM, which will run on a budget of 12.3 million euros ($15.8 million), with a first batch expected to be ready for combat in the north by early July.

Once trained, each of the four Mali battalions will have a unified command with an infantry-mobile core, backed by artillery and engineering, and a logistics component.