Mali Celebrates Its Army alongside France, U.N.
Malian soldiers and international forces paraded through the capital Bamako on Monday during a public holiday marking the 53rd anniversary of the founding of the west African nation's army.
Malian soldiers were joined in the Boulevard de l'Independance by U.N. peacekeepers, members of the European Union mission training Mali's army and troops from Operation Serval, France's military mission which ousted armed jihadists from its former colony last year.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian watched the Army Day parade alongside generals from Mali, the United Nations and Serval.
On Sunday Keita had paid tribute to the Malian army, announcing in a speech after Le Drian's arrival that a new military planning law was to be adopted which would strengthen the capabilities of the troops over the next five years.
He noted that the parade capped "the distressing events" of the previous two years, which saw a separatist uprising, a coup and a sweeping occupation of the north by al-Qaida-linked rebels halted only when France intervened in January 2013.
"Mali and France are currently discussing a possible military cooperation agreement... on the initiative of the Malian authorities," Keita said.
The agreement was initially supposed to have been signed during Le Drian's visit but it has been delayed, with neither side offering an explanation.
Source: Agence France Presse
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