Canada has announced a peacekeeping mission to Mali which has been the ground of several attacks from Islamic extremists in the past few years which has in turn spilled to neighboring countries. The mission is in line with the pledge by Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau to return Canada to peacekeeping efforts after over a decade of slacking behind and being unparticipating in such efforts.
Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said that the deployment would be 12 months and would include six helicopters and support troops. The mission will include two Chinook helicopters for airlift operations and four armed Griffon helicopters for escort purposes. The number of troops has not been determined yet.
Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 uprising prompted mutinous soldiers to overthrow the country’s president of a decade. The power vacuum that was created ultimately fueled an Islamic insurgency and a French-led war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013. But insurgents remain active in the region.
