EU approves military mission to Mali

EUROPEAN Union foreign ministers on Monday formally approved the launch of a 500-strong EU military mission to train the Malian army, which has already begun work on the ground.

A first group of 70 EU military arrived in the west African nation 10 days ago, and Monday’s ministerial greenlight was the final phase in setting up the European Union Training Mission (EUTM), which has a 15-month mandate to shape up the ramnshackle Malian army.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the mission “is going to be of enormous importance in support of the Malian army,” a poorly equipped and trained force without the capacity to maintain the country’s territorial integrity. (AFP)

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