On July 13 Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius and 20 other Ministers of Defence attended an international distance meeting organized by the Ministry of Armed Forces of France to discuss security situation in the Sahel. The French representatives briefed the meeting on the security situation in the region and progress of Task Force Takuba, and invited countries to contribute to the operation launched in support of the Malian Armed Forces more actively.
“We have a positive view on the possible Lithuania’s contribution to Task Force Takuba in Africa. Lithuania is considering it, we are looking at all options how we could do it,” M. Abukevičius said at the meeting.
Military personnel deployed with Task Force Takuba are assisting to keep the region stable and secure, supporting local security forces by training them to fight against terrorist groups operating in the Sahel. Currently, most of the operation personnel are deployed in Mali near the border with Niger and Burkina Faso.
Lithuania’s current contribution in Mali – nearly 50 soldiers, most of them are serving with the UN operation MINUSMA. Two more soldiers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces are completing tasks in the European Union Training Mission Mali.