Lithuania adheres to the mutual decision of the allies to pull out military contributions to two French-led international operations in Mali. On February 17 France announced that the interim military government of Mali was obstructing the operational activities rendering international operations Takuba and Barkhane incompletable.
“We stand by the allies’ decision – the conditions are no longer met for the French-led operations to effectively continue military engagement in the fight against terrorism in Mali. Despite the withdrawal of these two operations, Lithuania and our allies remain committed to supporting Mali and its efforts to achieve sustainable peace and stability,” says Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas.
Lithuania late last year approved a contribution of up to 30 Lithuanian civilian and military personnel to Task Force. No Lithuanians are deployed to Task Force Takuba, nor Operation Barkhane, at the moment.
The other international operations in Mali remain. 47 Lithuanian servicemembers are deployed to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and two Lithuanians serve in the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali).
