The German government has approved the deployment of up to 330 military personnel to Mali to back France in its war on the West African country.

Berlin announced the decision on Tuesday and said the troops are tasked with training the Malian army as well as providing logistics and transport for French and West African soldiers.

Meanwhile according to a statement by government spokesman Steffen Seibert, the German mission will not be allowed to participate in fighting.

The mission requires the approval of the German Bundestag lower house of parliament that is due to vote on the deployment on February 22.


The Tuesday’s decision came shortly after European Union foreign ministers formally approved the final phase in setting up the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) to purportedly train the Malian army forces.

As many as 180 German soldiers are to join the EUTM in Mali while another 150 soldiers will assist in transporting African and French troops and fuel planes during the one-year mission, Berlin said.

France launched its war on Mali on January 11 under the pretext of halting the advance of fighters in the country. The war has left thousands of Malians homeless.

Some political analysts believe that Mali’s abandoned natural resources, including gold and uranium reserves, could be one of the reasons behind the French-led war.

On February 1, Amnesty International condemned “serious human rights breaches” including the killing of children in the French war in Mali.