LONDON - Britain’s military deployment in Mali is significant, but little is known about what is called the most dangerous current UN mission, writes Wednesday from Menaka Kim Sengupta of the Independent.
The sudden bursts of machinegun and Kalashnikov fire erupted from the long grass and thorn bushes as the British troops approached. They shot back and after an intense exchange, in which 700 rounds were fired over 12 minutes, two suspected Isis fighters lay dead.
Twenty-four hours later the same soldiers were trying to escape a swirling fire closing in around them. One of the armoured vehicles the troops were travelling in, loaded with weapons, ammunition and fuel, was set alight and destroyed. The men on board jumped out and scrambled to safety as others ran for cover.
Two soldiers injured trying to get away from the fire were flown by helicopter back to the headquarters of the UK forces, an international base near the city of Gao. A previous task of the medical team treating them had been to provide support in the aftermath of a car bombing targeting a German base which wounded 12 soldiers.
The clash with the jihadists in eastern Mali was the first time regular British troops have been in combat since 2014. The flames which could have engulfed the convoy causing enormous losses highlighted the harsh and risky conditions in which the force is operating.
The British military presence in the country is one of the most significant deployment overseas by this country since Iraq and Afghanistan, but little has emerged about their role in what has been described as the most dangerous UN mission taking place at present.
The force of 300, based on 2nd Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, a squadron of Queen’s Dragoon Guards and supporting units, are in a region facing the fastest growing Islamist insurgency in the world. One potent indication of what is unfolding are UN figures which reveal that around 38 per cent of all IEDs (improvised explosive devices) found internationally in the first nine months of this year were in Mali.
For the rest of the article, visit: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/mali-isis-british-troops-b1950161.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IND_Morning_Headlines%2003-11-2021&utm_term=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP
