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EU to close Mali military training mission

Mission will end when its current mandate expires on May 18 this year, EU’s diplomatic service said in a statement

By Reuters
May 09, 2024
Malian soldiers of the 614th Artillery Battery during a training session on a D-30 howitzer with the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) in Mopti region, in Mali. — Reuters/File
Malian soldiers of the 614th Artillery Battery during a training session on a D-30 howitzer with the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) in Mopti region, in Mali. — Reuters/File 

BRUSSELS: The European Union said on Wednesday it would end its military training mission in Mali, reflecting a deterioration in relations between the bloc and the West African country’s military junta.

The mission will end when its current mandate expires on May 18 this year, the EU’s diplomatic service said in a statement.

For 11 years, the mission trained Malian armed forces and members of the G5 Sahel, a multinational counter-terrorism force, the statement said.

The EU suspended the mission in 2022 after the junta said it was pulling out of the G5 Sahel.

The EU said it had decided not to extend the mission’s mandate following a strategic review and consultations with the Malian authorities, also taking into account the “evolution of the political and security situation on the ground”.