German Parliament just discussed extending #EUTM #Mali mandate for up to 450 soldiers + expanding geographic reach of german contribution to the #G5. This move would integrate training mission #Gazelle in #Niger which so far had no mandate by the #Bundestag.

Gov proposal extends german military presence to the wider #Sahel where it was not yet active, including #Burkina #Chad and #Mauritania. Participation within #EUTM will refrain from any participation in active fighting - contrary to the active #monitoring approach of #Takuba.

Reminder: Military restraint is guiding principle of multilateral engagement & a key reason why #Germany has provided only political support to #Takuba, refusing french requests for active combat support despite calls by defence minister #AKK for more robust presence in #Sahel

It's unclear how the structural & institutional challenges of #EUTM will be addressed. This analysis by @denis_tull provides a great look into the multifaceted challenges of capacity-building in active conflict https://www.irsem.fr/data/files/irsem/documents/document/file/3233/RP_IRSEM_89.pdf

In addition, recent #MINUSMA data underlines that security forces in #Sahel are at least part of the problem: in the first quarter of 2020 more human rights violations and atrocities were committed by state security forces than by radical armed groups https://minusma.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/note_trimestrielle_sur_les_endances_des_violations_et_abus_des_droits_de_lhomme.pdf

This dynamic is similarly reflected across the #Sahel, with state security forces both in #Burkina and #Niger equally incriminated in recent massacres - more details in this thread: https://twitter.com/annateesch/status/1256180509874565120