EU Considers Sending 200 Troops To Train Mali Army

The European Union is considering sending about 200 troops to train Mali's army to retake the Islamist-held north, but is not willing to deploy them in battle, EU officials said on Tuesday.

Fears are growing in Europe that the African country could turn into a platform for terrorist attacks, after Islamist fighters seized two-thirds of its territory earlier this year.

"There is a willingness among member states to put boots on the ground - but only on the parade ground," one of the EU officials said. "I haven't heard from member states a willingness to put people in the field."

The EU discussions are among international efforts to mobilise against the militants in northern Mali, which has attracted Islamists, criminal networks and Al Qaeda-linked gunmen.

The militants are recruiting hundreds of locals, including children, and a trickle of foreign fighters. The EU officials said the region was becoming a haven for traffickers - of people, drugs and cigarettes - and that this money was financing terrorists.

EU leaders said at a summit on October 19 that the Mali crisis was an "immediate threat" to Europe. Foreign ministers had called four days earlier for the EU diplomatic service to draw up a plan to help Mali's military.

Three such plans have been under consideration, said an EU official: help only with training; training plus reform of the army's structure; or both of these, plus mentoring.

The third scenario envisaged sending EU troops into combat with Malian troops. But member states are not willing to risk sending their troops into combat, said the official.

News Source: Reuters