The Netherlands Has Announced That They Will Send 380 Soldiers To Mali

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday that his country would dispatch troops in an attempt to help restore stability to the West African country. The announcement came after the UN's special representative to Mali appealed for more troops and helicopters for its peacekeeping mission in the war-ravaged country. 

The UN special representative to Mali, former Dutch politician Bert Koenders, told the Security Council earlier this month that the UN's Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), must have more resources in order to stabilize the north of the country. “The Netherlands has decided to answer the UN's call,” Rutte told journalists at his weekly press briefing.

“We believe Dutch participation increases the chance of success of the UN mission,” Rutte said.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry said in a statement that intelligence gathering for the MINUSMA, as well as training local police, would be the Dutch force's main task. “In principle the Dutch force will remain with the mission until the end of 2015,” the ministry added. 

France launched a war in Mali on January 11 under the pretext of halting the advance of rebel fighters in the country. Following a fierce war against the militants, France handed over control of what it refers to as the “peacekeeping mission” to MINUSMA.

MINUSMA took over security duties in July from a UN-backed African force in Mali. It has some 5,200 troops of its mandated strength of more than 12,000 military personnel. However, France still maintains more than 3,000 troops in the impoverished African country.

On February 1, Amnesty International said “serious human rights breaches” including the killing of children were occurring in the French war in Mali. Chaos broke out in the West African country after Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure was toppled in a military coup on March 22, 2012. The coup leaders said they mounted the coup in response to the government's inability to contain the Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country, which had been going on for two months.

The Tuareg rebels took control of the entire northern desert region in the wake of the coup d’état, but the Ansar Dine extremists then pushed them aside and took control of the region, which is larger than France or Texas.