Mali: EU Military Mission Begins Mali Training

The training of the Malian army by instructors from the European Union Training Mission, EUTM began yesterday, April 2, 2013 at Koulikoro, about 60 km north of the capital, Bamako. The objective of the mission is to train an army capable of defending the country after the departure of foreign troops, Radio France Internationale, RFI reported.

The European instructors numbering about 550 are to train four battalions made up of about 670 men each for an initial mandate of 15 months. According to the French EUTM commander, Gen. Lecointre, the Malian army must be entirely rebuilt and the authorities are well aware of the need to reconstruct it, given that the country almost collapsed as a result of its failings, BBC said. Mali Defense Minister, Yamoussa Camara described the 15-month mission as being too short.

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