Mali: Peacekeeping Operations

(asked on 13th July 2022) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) expanding Operation NEWCOMBE and (b) increasing British armed forces presence in Mali in the context of levels of extremism.


Answered by
James Heappey Portrait
James Heappey
This question was answered on 21st July 2022

West Africa has strategic importance to the United Kingdom; from our enduring partnership with a number of countries in the region – notably Ghana and Nigeria, to insecurity and instability in the Sahel, to countering piracy, smuggling and illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea.

The UK constantly reviews our contribution to international missions to ensure that the military instrument is being effectively used alongside political and economic efforts. As the Malian government has chosen to work more closely with a Russian private military company and the violence has spread to Burkina Faso causing a direct threat to the UK interest in the littoral states, the Ministry of Defence is currently working across Whitehall to consider whether our interest in West Africa might be better pursued through a different mission with regional partners.

Reticulating Splines