To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's military objective is in Mali.
Answered on
17 May 2021
The UK has two distinct, but complementary, military commitments in Mali, each with clear objectives that support HMG multilateral and bilateral objectives.
We have deployed 300 personnel to the UN's peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA. Our overall objective is to help the Mission to address and prevent conflict, and reduce the spread of insecurity across Mali and the wider Sahel, by contributing to its efforts to protect civilians and support sustainable peace.
Fulfilling a gap identified by the UN, the UK task force is designed for long-range reconnaissance, meaning they seek to understand the threats to civilians and to the Mission, and provide this information to support mission planning and effective operations.
In parallel, the UK also contributes CH47 helicopters deployed to the French-led counter-terror mission, Operation BARKHANE. Our objective is to support France and other partner nations address terrorist threats across the Sahel. Our CH47s fulfil a non-combat, logistics role, with the aim of helping troops and equipment safely transport around the vast operating environment.