EU and African states back French action in Mali

French troops in Mali concentrated on containing al Qaeda linked rebels in a town near the capital while the EU and African states rushed to support their action with troops and strategic supplies.

In Paris French president François Hollande said the hostage tragedy in neighbouring Algeria showed that his intervention in Mali was justified.

In Brussels his foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, told journalists the push by jihadists in the former French colony was a risk for all of Europe.

EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, agreed to send a mission to train and advise Malian armed forces for 15 months. The plan is to deploy about 200 instructors with an additional 250 support and protection staff at an estimated cost of €12.3m.

They will not be involved in military action but the EU’s foreign affairs head, Cathy Ashton, said several countries were willing to help the French and did not rule out military support.

There are about 1,400 French troops in Mali and they were involved in air strikes for the past week against the jihadists, which launched an offensive to take over the southern part of the country from their base in the north.

An additional 1,000 French troops are expected to arrive shortly with about 2,000 from at least eight African states.

Britain supplied two military transport planes to help the French bring in armoured vehicles and supplies while Germany has promised two military transport planes to help with the difficult logistical problem of bringing in military from African states.

Europe Minister Lucinda Creighton, who attended the meeting, said Ireland supported the training mission but added: “Military action alone will not secure peace and stability.” She urged Malian parties to adopt and implement a roadmap for transitions to democratic elections.

In the past two years about 500,000 Malians have had to flee their homes in the conflict-torn Sahel region, where 18m people are on the brink of starvation.