Thomas Pringle
Question:12. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Defence if a full report will be provided on the Defence Forces' involvement in missions in Mali; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34614/21]
View answerTuesday, 29 June 2021
Questions (12)
Oral answers (7 contributions)
I have read the 2020 Department of Defence reports to the Dáil on service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations. Irish troops have taken part in two missions in Mali, namely, MINUSMA, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, and the European Union training mission, EUTM Mali. Both reports are very brief and I would like to have a fuller more detailed report from the Minister. Perhaps the Minister will consider having a debate on it in future.
Irish Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed in two separate missions in Mali. The Government has approved the continued provision of up to 20 members of the Permanent Defence Force for service with the EU mission to train the Malian armed forces in Mali, known as EUTM Mali, or the EU training mission, up to 22 March 2022. In addition, the Government has approved the continued provision of up to 14 Defence Forces personnel, drawn primarily from the Army Ranger Wing, to participate in MINUSMA, the United Nations-led operation in Mali, up until 30 September 2022.
With regard to EUTM Mali, Ireland has participated in this training mission since its launch in 2013. I visited it when I was previously Minister for Defence. Defence Forces personnel are primarily deployed at Koulikoro and Bamako, and also deploy as part of combined mobile advisory training teams across Mali. These mobile teams travel to the various regions for defined periods of time to provide additional training to Malian soldiers through specialised courses and tactical training. The roll-out of decentralised training is a key component of enhancing the utility of the Malian armed forces.
Defence Forces personnel first deployed to MINUSMA in September 2019 as part of a joint deployment with German armed forces. Irish personnel continue to be deployed with the German armed forces at Camp Castor in Gao and at MINUSMA headquarters in Bamako, where they carry out assigned tasks in accordance with the mission mandate. The Army Ranger Wing team carries out surveillance and intelligence gathering operations as part of its remit. Irish personnel in Gao are embedded with the larger German intelligence surveillance reconnaissance company and benefit from the security and force protection effort that is in place to protect the full company. The security situation is continually monitored by the Defence Forces on an ongoing basis.
That is the summary that was more or less given in the document submitted to the Oireachtas Library on the operation. I have several questions on this. What relationship do the Irish troops have with the French forces operating in Mali at present? They have been involved in a couple of very controversial incidents, including one where more than 20 civilians were killed at a wedding which was bombed by French forces. Is it not the case that Irish troops went there to train Malian troops to free up French soldiers so they could go out and kill civilians? The conflict in Mali is part of a wider conflict that takes place in a number of countries. Do we know whether Irish troops go across borders into other countries neighbouring Mali in pursuit of their remit? Will the Minister comment on this?
I want to put on the record of the House that defence force personnel from EU countries in Mali are there to try to bring stability to save lives. The French are central to these efforts. I want to read into the record from a statement on what happened in recent days and the risks they all face so that we can show a bit of respect to peacekeepers in a part of the world that would be falling apart, in my view, if it were not for the intervention of EU troops, including French troops.
At 6.25 a.m. on Friday morning last, a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device was used to attack the overnight position of a company of mainly German soldiers serving as part of the MINUSMA mission. The purpose of the mission carried out by the German personnel was to provide an accurate assessment of the potential routes and locations that MINUSMA convoys could use if primary main supply routes became blocked. The attack took place 120 km from their main base in Gao, which is where the Irish are. There were 15 casualties in total, including 14 German and one Belgian.
Three of them were seriously injured and 13 of the wounded were evacuated to Germany on Saturday last. A number of Defence Forces personnel had participated in the operation since Wednesday, 23 June, and had occupied an overnight position some 25 km from the location of the attack on the main body of the company. As with other similar situations, part of this operation would entail the Irish personnel temporarily operating independently from the main body.
Whether it is Irish, German, French or any other EU peacekeepers, we are in a dangerous and difficult place to operate and we were lucky that nobody was killed last Friday. We should show a little bit more respect than what the Deputy has shown in his comments on French troops.
Is the Minister saying that nobody should question why they were there and we should just accept it? Are the French troops part of the MINUSMA mission?
Mali is a former French colony. The French are there to pursue their colonial interests. There have been attacks. The attack the Minister mentioned is worrying. That is why I am asking the question. I do not believe that Irish troops should be putting themselves in that position on behalf of French colonial interests. That is what is happening.
What about the French troops that attacked a wedding in Mali and killed more than 20 civilians? What about the French troops who shot a civilian in the desert and then buried him there? What impact do those actions have on the reaction of the local population? That is the issue. Perhaps the Minister could follow up by stating whether Irish troops operate outside of Mali in the wider region. I would like to know whether that happens.
The time allotted for this question has been exceeded by the Deputy's last contribution.
They do not operate outside of Mali. I want to put that on the record.