Defences Forces training Malian army in ‘difficult mission’

In a west African country where militant and terrorist attacks are “entirely unpredictable”, Irish soldiers are helping to train the Malian army to enforce the rule of law.

The security threat facing the 18-strong deployment, part of a UN-authorised EU military training mission, EUTM Mali, has worsened after a terror attack last Sunday on a hotel in which five people were killed, including a Portuguese solider attached to the EU mission.

Two Irish soldiers were in the Le Campement Hotel at the time, but were unharmed, in an attack that the government of Mali has reportedly blamed on jihadist terrorists.