The Danish government is sending 12 police officers to Mali to strengthen Denmark’s contribution to the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA, reports Berlingske Politiko.
The government is also planning to provide the UN peacekeeping mission with military support in transport and logistics.
The decision was announced by the foreign minister, Kristian Jensen, who is currently attending a UN summit in New York.
Securing stability in north Africa
“Stability in Mali and the Sahel is very important. With Libya’s collapse, the region is just a boundary away from Europe,” Jensen stated.
“The absence of state control combined with a power vacuum in Libya has increased the space for terrorist groups and organised crime – including human traffickers.”
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was established in 2013 in order to carry out security-related tasks and support political processes in the country.
Ongoing civil war
Mali is currently going through a civil war, with Islamist militants fighting the government forces.
In August, five UN workers were killed in a hotel siege in the country’s capital, Bamako.
