Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said Germany is planning to expand the military training it is giving the Malian army.
Leyen said that about 200 Germans were currently participating in an EU training mission near Bamako.
Report says over three years, the Germans have trained 8,000 Malian soldiers, who make up two-thirds of the West African country’s army.
“The training mission will first be expanded in the south and later possibly to Timbuktu and Gao in the more restless north, if the peace process between the government and rebel groups moves forward,’’ von der Leyen said.
He noted that Germany already has more than 200 UN peacekeepers in northern Mali.
In 2012, northern Mali fell into the hands of Islamist insurgents who were pushed back after an intervention by the country’s former colonial power France in early 2013.
Reports say Islamist groups have continued to stage attacks in the area.
