Over 500 instructors will train four battalions of 2,700 troops in 15 months.

The training of the Malian army by instructors from the European Union Training Mission, EUTM began yesterday, April 2, 2013 at  Koulikoro, about 60 km north of the capital, Bamako. The objective of the mission is to train an army capable of defending the country after the departure of foreign troops, Radio France Internationale, RFI reported.

The European instructors numbering about 550 are to train four battalions made up of about 670 men each for an initial mandate of 15 months. According to the French EUTM commander, Gen. Lecointre, the Malian army must be entirely rebuilt and the authorities are well aware of the need to reconstruct it, given that the country almost collapsed as a result of its failings, BBC said. Mali Defense Minister, Yamoussa Camara described the 15-month mission as being too short.

A major issue, according to Gen. Lecointre, is the army’s poor and heterogeneous equipment, made up of material donated in the last two decades. Training will include courses in shooting, weapons handling and human rights. The first fully trained battalion is expected to be operational in July 2013. For a beginning, EUTM instructors will focus on training officers and future instructors as most of the battalions are currently mobilised for the war against Islamic insurgents in northern Mali.

Islamist groups took advantage of a coup in March 2012 to seize the vast north of Mali and later imposed a strict form of Islamic law. France on January 11, 2013 intervened after saying the Al-Qaeda-linked militants threatened to march on Bamako. France is now preparing to withdraw its 4,000 troops which will be replaced by forces from several African nations. French President, François Hollande has promised that his country’s troop levels will be halved by next July and reduced to about 1,000 by the end of the year. The African force in Mali currently numbers about 6,300 soldiers.