Chad to send 1,000 troops to Mali as part of UN Mission

Bamako [Mali], December 18 (ANI/Sputnik): One thousand of Chadian soldiers will be stationed in West-African country of Mali to strengthen its forces as part of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the Malian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry posted on Twitter a communique confirming that the Malian government approved the deployment of another 1,000 Chadian soldiers for MINUSMA.
“The ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation is specifying that the deployment is bilateral, upon the request of the Chadian government to reinforce its contingent in northern Mali after reorganization of the forces involved in Operation Barkhane, to resist threats and protect its troops deployed in the area,” the communique of the foreign ministry read.
On Tuesday, the French Defense Ministry said that the country pulled out the troops from the city of Timbuktu situated in northern Mali, completing the eight-year military presence in the country within the scope of Operation Barkhane, launched by Paris in 2014. The anti-terrorist operation is also supported by the G5 Sahel group of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania, to seek stabilization and security in the region.
An armed conflict between government forces and militants of separatist movements began in Mali in 2012. The situation deteriorated after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted. The peacekeeping UN mission that has been deployed to Mali to detain confrontation in the country is regularly attacked by militants. (ANI/Sputnik)