Mali: German military has long experience in Mali

The planned non-combative mission by the German Bundeswehr will not be the first of its kind. Since 2005, German soldiers have trained Malian engineers and Germany has donated large amounts of military hardware.

For several months now the West African state of Mali has been in the spotlight. At the start of the year it looked as if Islamist rebels from the north could overrun the weak Malian army and seize power. That prospect changed with the arrival of the French interventionary force in mid-January.

France's role as an armed ally is now gradually to be taken over by soldiers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). At the same time the European Union is planning to train the Malian army in order to increase its effectiveness. In this, the EU can draw on the German armed forces' many years of experience. German soldiers have been active in Mali for some time but few people in Germany are aware of this.

Read German military has long experience in Mali | Africa | DW.DE | 27.02.2013