German cabinet has approved extension of their military missions in Mali and Somalia.
The deployed troops will be deployed to the region under the European Union (EU) aegis until May 31st, 2016. The plan to deploy troops will need to be approved by the national parliament.
According to Steffen Seibert, German cabinet has decided to prolong Bundeswehr (German army) deployment to the anti-piracy mission off Somalia and to further support Mali.
In Somalia, German army has been engaged in EU patrol missions to secure coastal waters of Somalia since 2008.
German government, however, plans to cut the number of deployed troops from 650 to 600 by 2017.
In Mali, Germany wants to expand its military presence to cover the troubled north of the country.
Germany maintains one of the biggest forces of 350 service personnel in Mali’s southern region.
EU Training Mission in Mali (EUTM) also was launched in 2013 to help stabilize the West African nation military tactics and capabilities.
Mali and Somalia have been gripped by challenge of terrorist insurgency for years.
