The withdrawal can begin, Misma must deploy, says General Camara (Mali)
(BRUSSELS2) For the Malian Defense Minister, General Yamoussa Camara, who spoke in front of the cameras of the European Union last Monday (March 25) the time for withdrawal has come. " The hardest part has been done now”. On the other hand, he asks for the “rapid” deployment of the civilian component of Misma, considering it necessary to better observe the various cases of abuse that can occur against the population. The acts committed by soldiers against the population are "isolated" and will be " sanctioned “, he assured. As for the EUTM mission, it is useful. Corn " it will not be enough”.
Maintaining all staff is not useful
« The hardest part has been done now. I don't think it's still useful to maintain the same numbers here today. Okay, there are still small groups that have retreated to the refuge areas that we will have to continue to track down to completely neutralize. I believe that to do this, we don't need all the staff here. I think that the fact that France wants to start reducing these numbers in April will not pose any particular problem. Because we believe that the elements of Misma would also be fully deployed at this time alongside the armed forces which are in the process of upgrading their potential. »
Abuses against the population will be punished
“We cannot afford to commit acts against the population which we have the task of defending. People need to understand that even if there are isolated acts, they are not deliberate acts, and deliberate acts will not go unpunished. We have a moral contract with the whole population. And we intend to honor this moral contract to honor the confidence of the Malian populations in all their components. (...)
The civilian component of Misma must deploy
"Our wish is that the civilian component of Misma be deployed as soon as possible, to allow us to have neutral observers on the ground, because we are a bad advocate for ourselves so that we can identify on the land that does what.”
The EUTM mission: a first step
« The EUTM mission will last 15 months. Of course this will not be enough (for the Malian army). This will make it possible to train a core of instructors who will be able to continue to provide the training, in continuity given by EUTM. It's not sufficient. We are aware of it. And even in the field of equipment, whatever equipment the European partners and other financial partners can bring us, it will not be enough. »
