Breaking news
Germany will send up to 650 soldiers to Mali for peacekeeping missions 12511151.
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Defence & Security News - Germany
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| Germany will send up to 650 soldiers to Mali for peacekeeping missions. | |||
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Germany will send up to 650 soldiers to Mali for peacekeeping missions, including support in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday, November 25, 2015. |
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 Germany army soldiers were deployed during the ISAF NATO mission in Afghanistan. |
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The minister's announcement came less than two weeks after the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and less than one week after gunmen stormed a hotel in Mali's capital of Bamako, killing 19.
Von der Leyen said the German soldiers would support the French-led peacekeeping mission in Mali, in particular in the areas of logistics and reconnaissance. The decision, she added, is aimed to help relieve pressure on France, as it is strained in its fight against the IS. The mandate will be soon submitted to the German parliament for approval. The attacks in Paris have brought France to the forefront of the global fight against terrorism. France has thousands of troops in Mali, a former colony, but last week's hostage crisis in Bamako has stoked fears that the West African country is still unable to prevent terrorist groups from operating within its borders.During the NATO mission in Afghanistan, the German Armed Forces have supported Afghan government institutions in establishing and maintaining security to facilitate reconstruction of the country in a secure environment. Germany has deployed up to 5,350 soldiers mainly in the northern region of Afghanistan. Since 2006, Germany has been NATO’s lead nation for the stabilization of Afghanistan’s North. Germany is a strong and reliable partner in the international efforts to help build an Afghanistan that will never again become a haven for terrorists. Ever since international operations began in fall 2001, Germany has been thoroughly committed to the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan, building on historically strong bilateral German-Afghan relations and decades of German reconstruction assistance. |
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