Re: Mali Mission

by Cool~Way Sun 23 Dec 2018, 8:46 am

Trudeau insists Canadian presence in Mali making a difference

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Dec 23, 2018

Mali Mission - Page 9 Trudeau-mali-20181222

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-mali-1.4957675

by **Diesel** Sun 23 Dec 2018, 7:42 pm

Trudeau confirms Canada will not extend mission in Mali

Dec 23, 2018

by **Navigator** Mon 24 Dec 2018, 9:26 am

Canada to deploy cargo plane part time for UN missions in new year

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Dec 24, 2018

Mali Mission - Page 9 Afghan-cda-hercules-20110102

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-mail-peacekeeping-hercules-air-support-transport-1.4958079

by **Navigator** Tue 01 Jan 2019, 8:25 pm

January 1, 2019

Armed men kill 37 civilians in ethnic violence-ridden central Mali

By Staff Reuters

Mali Mission - Page 9 14713399-e1524952758300

https://globalnews.ca/news/4806652/mali-armed-men-kill-37/

by Ranger Tue 08 Jan 2019, 7:45 pm

Disappointment emerges as Canada's Mali mission nears halfway mark

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, January 8, 2019

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/disappointment-emerges-as-canada-s-mali-mission-nears-halfway-mark-1.4245374

by **Apollo** Fri 11 Jan 2019, 7:23 pm

Mali Mission - Page 9 ?q=70&w=1920&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftimedotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2019%2F01%2Fpinnacle-1

Canadian Troops Pose With Chinook As It Sticks A Pinnacle Landing While On Deployment In Mali

BY JOSEPH TREVITHICK > JANUARY 11, 2019

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/25917/canadian-troops-pose-with-chinook-as-it-sticks-a-pinnacle-landing-while-on-deployment-in-mali

by **Silversun** Tue 15 Jan 2019, 6:55 pm

Midway through Canada’s involvement, security in Mali worsens

By Charlie Pinkerton. Published on Jan 15, 2019

Mali Mission - Page 9 43866344950_9d0733f653_o-1200x675

The outgoing commander of Canada’s military detachment in Mali says the security situation has not improved during Canada’s peacekeeping mission in the west African country.

“In the last three or four months … there has been an uptick in … community-on-community violence across Mali, and specifically in central Mali,” said Col. Chris McKenna, the commander of Canada’s task force in Mali, who’s leaving the country in two weeks.

The number of targeted assassinations of civilians and armed groups has increased since September, according to the Dec. 28 report by the United Nations on its peacekeeping mission there.

“We’ve seen an uptick in 2018, certainly in IEDs (improvised explosion devices) across the entire theatre,” McKenna said. “The majority … seem to be targeting the Malian security and defence forces, or at least they seem to be the ones who become the victims of them, as of late.”

Since January 2018, there have been 192 “IED-related incidents,” compared to 124 in 2017, the UN reports.

From Sept. 25 until Dec. 28, the UN tracked 64 attacks by militant groups, including 35 against Malian forces, seven against UN forces, and two against UN contractors. Those killed in attacks include two peacekeepers, three UN contractors, and 108 civilians.

“It’s a very complex and dangerous place,” McKenna said.

In an interview with iPolitics in October, Canada’s chief of defence staff, Gen. Jonathan Vance, agreed he didn’t see security improving in Mali.

A total of 177 peacekeepers have been killed in Mali, the most dangerous mission for UN personnel since it began in 2013.

Operating out of a UN camp in the region of Gao in Mali’s north, Canada’s Forces are responsible for conducting medical evacuations, and have done five in five-and-a-half months.

Canadian soldiers first arrived in Mali in late June. By Aug. 1, the force was capable of performing medical evacuations, and, by mid-August, they could fly other types of missions.

McKenna said of the five medical evacuations, “the worst one” was on Nov. 1, when three Canadian helicopters flew about 100 kilometres north of Gao to help fellow peacekeepers.

A truck carrying civilians contracted by the UN had been driving as part of a convoy across a stretch of the desert (which McKenna called “an agreed-upon path,” rather than a road) when it struck an IED. Canadian soldiers airlifted two badly injured civilians and “worked on them” for the duration of the 30-minute flight back to the base in Gao, where they were transferred to the care of a Chinese-run hospital. This was the only time Canada’s helicopters evacuated “Category A” patients, meaning they required immediate in-flight surgery.

Canadians have performed other airmobile missions to transport materiel, passengers and other goods, and conducted other flights for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance purposes.

McKenna will leave Mali on Jan. 27.

The government has committed 250 soldiers and eight helicopters to the peacekeeping mission until next summer. Since before the mission began, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has maintained that Canada’s commitment will last only one year.

The mandate of the UN mission in Mali expires at the end of June 2019, but the UN Security Council expects to be briefed on the situation there this month.

https://ipolitics.ca/2019/01/15/midway-through-canadas-involvement-security-in-mali-worsens/

by Zodiac Sat 19 Jan 2019, 7:17 pm

French military says airstrikes kill 15 extremists in Mali
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted Jan 19, 2019

DAKAR, Senegal — The French military says it has carried out airstrikes in central Mali that killed some 15 members of an unnamed extremist group that had been preparing an attack.

A statement on Saturday says the airstrikes were carried out on Jan. 10 in co-ordination with the West African nation’s armed forces. The statement says the extremists had been planning an attack on a “symbolic institution” in the Dialoube region.

Mali is under threat from a number of extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization. Suspicions about alleged support for extremism have led to a growing number of deadly clashes among communities in the country’s central region.

France’s 4,500-strong Barkhane counterterror force in West Africa is the country’s largest overseas military operation.

The Associated Press

by **Vexmax** Sun 20 Jan 2019, 4:03 pm

January 20, 2019

8 UN peacekeepers killed after armed assailants attack in northern Mali

By Staff The Associated Pres

An official with the United Nations mission in Mali says that jihadists linked to al-Qaida have killed six peacekeepers and injured 19 others in an attack on a peacekeepers’ camp in Aguelhoc, in northern Mali’s Kidal region.

Residents confirmed the Sunday morning assault saying that attackers came in motorcycles and cars. The Aguelhoc camp houses peacekeepers from Chad.

The U.N. official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to press on the matter.

The peacekeeping mission in Mali is one of the U.N.’s deadliest.

Mali is under threat from a number of extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization, and attacks have moved from the north to Central Mali.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4868350/un-peacekeepers-killed-attack-mali/

by **Kizzer** Tue 22 Jan 2019, 5:51 pm

Canadians pressed into service after deadly attack on UN base in Mali

Lee Berthiaume · The Canadian Press · Posted: Jan 22, 2019

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadians-mali-action-attack-1.4988318

by **Falcon** Fri 25 Jan 2019, 9:32 pm

World News posted January 25, 2019 by Dylan McCullough

Canadian military rescues five injured peacekeepers overseas

According to the Department of National Defence, Canadian forces rescued five injured Sri Lankan peacekeepers from the scene and provided emergency medical treatment while in the air.

The attack occurred near the town of Douentza in central Mali, about 400 kilometres southwest of Gao, where the Canadian contingent of 250 peacekeepers and eight military helicopters is based.

Two different groups, both linked to al-Qaida, have reportedly claimed responsibility for this week’s attacks.

Canadian peacekeepers have conducted seven medevacs since operations began in August, including one last Sunday following a deadly assault on a UN camp in northern Mali.

That attack killed 10 peacekeepers from Chad and injured at least dozens more. The Canadians ended up carrying away 15 peacekeepers on their busiest day since arriving in the country.

Peacekeeping missions in Mali are considered one of the most dangerous in the world. The region has seen 189 fatalities since 2013.

Canadian forces are scheduled to end in July after Canada rejected a request from the UN to extend the mission until the fall.

https://www.kelownanow.com/news/news/World_News/Canadian_military_rescues_five_injured_peacekeepers_overseas/

by Ringo Sat 26 Jan 2019, 9:23 am

January 25, 2019

Two UN peacekeepers killed, several injured in Mali blast

By Josh K. Elliott National Online Journalist, International Global News

WATCH ABOVE: Following the death of multiple U.N. peacekeepers in Mali last week, Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan would not provide any specifics about Canadian peacekeeping troops in the country.

Two Sri Lankan peacekeepers were killed early Friday when their convoy hit a landmine in Mali, the United Nations said.

The explosion happened near Douentza in the Mopti region, in central Mali, according to a brief statement from the UN.

Several other people were wounded in the blast, according to UN spokesperson Myriam Dessables.

Canadian peacekeepers provided medical evacuation assistance to the victims, Canadian Armed Forces spokesperson Daniel Le Bouthillier told Global News.

“No Canadian Armed Forces members were injured in the incident,” Le Bouthillier said in a statement.

Friday’s incident comes less than a week after al-Qaida-linked jihadists killed 10 UN peacekeepers and injured at least 25 others at a United Nations base near Aguelhoc, a village in northern Mali. All 10 of the fatalities were from Chad.

Global Affairs Canada has said no Canadians were involved in that incident, which occurred on Jan. 20. However, five Canadian helicopters were scrambled after the attack to provide medical assistance.

A total of 189 UN peacekeepers have now been killed in Mali since the mission began in 2013. The UN has stationed 15,000 peacekeepers in the region in an effort to repel several extremist groups linked with al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

Friday’s attack occurred in the far north of Mali, near its border with Algeria. However, most of the attacks over the last year have occurred in the central and southern parts of the country.

Approximately 250 members of the Canadian Armed Forces are stationed in Mali at a base in the country’s south. Their one-year mission is to provide round-the-clock medical evacuation services to wounded soldiers in the country.

“Today’s events mark the seventh medevac Canadian peacekeepers have conducted since arriving in Mali last summer,” Le Bouthillier said.

The Canadian peacekeeping mission is slated to end in July.

—With files from Mercedes Stephenson, The Associated Press and Reuters

https://globalnews.ca/news/4888248/two-un-peacekeepers-killed-mali/

by **Proctor** Sun 27 Jan 2019, 8:06 am

Emotional reunion for Canadian Forces members returning from Africa

It was an emotional reunion for families of the Canadian Armed Forces. 25 members arrived at the Edmonton International Airport after spending the last 6 months on a peacekeeping mission in west Africa. Sarolta Saskiw has the details.

Jan 26, 2019, 9:24 PM

https://toronto.citynews.ca/video/2019/01/26/emotional-reunion-for-canadian-forces-members-returning-from-africa/

by Stealth Sun 27 Jan 2019, 5:02 pm

Military never investigated leak of Mark Norman letter from HQ, says it wasn't a breach of security

The decision by the Canadian Forces not to investigate how the record became public smacks of a double standard, say some of Norman's supporters

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen

January 27, 2019
2:45 PM EST

The Canadian Forces did not investigate the 2017 leak of a letter from the country’s top soldier removing Vice Admiral Mark Norman from his job because it doesn’t consider the unauthorized release of the document as a breach of security.

The letter from Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance was delivered in hard copy form only to various generals at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa and shortly after leaked to the news media. For the leak to have occurred, the document would have been obtained from a general’s office and scanned before being anonymously emailed to journalists, military sources say.

But the decision by the Canadian Forces not to investigate how that record became public smacks of a double standard, say some of Norman’s supporters.

They note federal lawyers are trying to build a case against Norman on the claim he violated the law and Canadian Forces rules by allegedly leaking information to a shipbuilder and having behind the scenes contact with a number of journalists.

Its release, although unwelcome, did not constitute a breach of security and was therefore not investigated

Vance’s office noted in a statement to Postmedia that the letter relieving Norman of his duties and functions as the second-highest ranking officer in the military was unclassified and was an order to ensure “the continuity of command and control in the CAF.”

“It was not formally released or directed to be released to the media, but its release, although unwelcome, did not constitute a breach of security and was therefore not investigated,” Vance’s office stated.

Government lawyers in Norman’s case have maintained that the naval officer is guilty of wrongdoing because he communicated with the news media without permission. Communications with the media on matters concerning or affecting the Canadian military are prohibited and may only be made by the defence minister or a person designated by the minister, according to federal lawyers.

But Kevin Carle, a retired Royal Canadian Navy captain, said a double-standard is at play over what leaks the government and Canadian Forces get upset about and investigate and those they quietly approve. “This is a double-standard based on convenience,” said Carle, a former senior public affairs officer who served at defence headquarters in Ottawa.

Carle said many leaks are authorized by government and that it isn’t unusual for senior military officers to maintain behind-the-scene contact with some journalists. He noted, for instance, that details of the Canadian military mission to Mali were leaked last year before the official announcement but there was no uproar nor investigation.

Some of Norman’s supporters also believe the leak of the suspension letter was a carefully co-ordinated effort by individuals inside National Defence headquarters to portray the vice admiral in a negative light. After Norman was suspended, Vance ordered a media blackout on the reasons behind his unprecedented move to strip the vice admiral of his duties.

With the lack of information, some initial media reports erroneously claimed Norman had leaked national security information, suggesting some kind of espionage. A number of articles on Norman included references to another navy officer who several years earlier had provided secret information to the Russians.

The Liberal government knew immediately that Norman’s removal had nothing to do with national security issues but Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan only made that information public 10 days after news of the vice admiral’s suspension. Sajjan has declined to explain why he waited so long to make clear the investigation into Norman wasn’t a matter of national security.

Norman has been charged with one count of breach of trust. He denies any wrongdoing.

Norman’s lawyers will be back in federal court in Ottawa Tuesday to try to get information about an alleged plan at defence headquarters to withhold records concerning Norman. The documents, which had been requested under the Access to Information law, are needed by Norman for his defence.

In December the court heard from a military officer who testified that a brigadier general allegedly boasted of a method used by the Canadian Forces to avoid having to produce records about Norman. The name of the witness is protected by the court to prevent retaliation by the Canadian Forces.

Gen. Vance and former deputy minister John Forster will be in court next week to testify about the handling of information by the Canadian Forces and the DND.

The vice-admiral’s legal team has been trying to gather documents for his upcoming trial but has been met by various roadblocks from federal officials and lawyers.

dpugliese@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/davidpugliese

https://nationalpost.com/news/military-never-investigated-leak-of-mark-norman-letter-from-hq-says-it-wasnt-a-breach-of-security

by **Spider** Fri 08 Feb 2019, 8:14 am

Two RCMP officers make up Mali policing arm that pledged up to 20

By Charlie Pinkerton. Published on Feb 7, 2019

There are only two RCMP officers deployed to Mali, seven months after the government announced that up to 20 police officers would make up the second arm of the Canadian peacekeeping mission in the country.

Less than two weeks after the chief of the defence staff Jonathan Vance touched down in Mali with the first of Canada’s Forces, senior government officials held the first lengthy background briefing about Canada’s involvement in the United Nations mission. At that briefing on July 5, government officials announced to reporters that Canada would be taking on a policing role in Mali in addition to its military commitment and that there would be up to 20 RCMP helping train their Malian counterparts.

At the same briefing in July, officials said that Canadian police would first arrive in the country in fall. Another RCMP news release from November says the retroactive start date of the Mali policing mission was in March. The first Canadian police officer ended up arriving in Mali late last month, according to an RCMP spokesperson, and there are only two Canadian cops currently in the West African country.

The spokesperson, Staff Sgt. Tania Vaughan, said more police will be deployed to other areas of Mali “once further assessments” are completed. Both officers are currently in Bamako, Mali’s capital city.

The RCMP has committed officers to the country until 2021, though Vaughan said this could be extended. Individual officers will stay for a year at a time, with break periods when they can return to Canada.

Canada’s Forces are stationed at a base in Gao, in Mali’s war-torn northern region. There are 250 members of the Canadian Armed Forces and eight of its helicopters in the country to provide medical evacuations and perform other types of air transportations. The government announced last week that Canada would be withdrawing its troops from Mali in July, which aligns with its original plan. They’ll be replaced by Romania’s military.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told iPolitics on Friday that the Mali mission had “exceeded our expectations.”

He said that Canada’s air force in Mali has allowed for UN Forces to conduct missions that they were not capable of completing prior to Canada’s arrival.

During Canada’s deployment to Mali, the state of national security in the country has gotten worse. The last UN report on its progress showed an uptick in violence aimed at both peacekeepers and civilians. More than 175 peacekeepers have been killed as part of the mission to date, making it the most dangerous UN mission in the world.

https://ipolitics.ca/2019/02/07/two-rcmp-officers-make-up-mali-policing-arm-that-pledged-up-to-20/

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