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Dutch troops to peacekeeping mission in Mali will face complex situation

22 Nov 2013 - 17:03
Source: U.N.Photo

Why did the government decide to support MINUSMA in Mali? What is the current security situation in Mali? What does this contribution mean for the international community? 

Major General (ret.) Kees Homan and Ivan Briscoe, senior researcher of the Conflict Research Unit, answer these and other questions in the video below

Jihadist groups

'The Dutch troops will face a complex environment', argues Ivan Briscoe. 'There are continuing skirmishes between armed groups and the Malian armed forces and it is uncertain what has happened to remnants of Al Qaida and other jihadist groups in Northern Mali.'

The territory is very large, very sparsely populated and confronted with extremely low levels of economic development and transnational criminal networks. This makes it difficult to think of easy comprehensive solutions to the situation in Northern Mali.

UN peacekeeping mission

In November, the Dutch government decided to send combat helicopters and around 380 troops to support the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

This week, a hearing in the House will take place on the Aricle 100 letter, which was send to parliament and serves as the framework for decision-making process on the sending of troops abroad.