This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
Published on July 23, 2019, Britain is set to deploy 250 troops to Mali next year to take part in the world's deadliest peacekeeping operation.
The United Nations has reported that since 2013, 177 people deployed in Mali have lost their lives in the conflict.
Defence Minister Penny Mordaunt stated, 'In one of the world's poorest and most fragile regions, it is right that we support some of the world's most vulnerable people and prioritise our humanitarian and security efforts in the Sahel.'
UK service personnel will work with regional partners to combat violent extremism and protect human rights in Mali.
Mali has been plagued by turmoil since Tuareg separatists and allied jihadists took control of over half the country in a rebellion in 2012, prompting French forces to intervene in 2013.
A 2015 peace deal signed by Mali's government and separatist groups has failed to bring an end to the violence, with Islamists staging assaults on high-profile targets in Bamako, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast.
French forces remain in Mali, with approximately 4,000 troops deployed, and the UN Security Council has deployed peacekeepers who have been targeted in a concerted guerrilla campaign.
