Czech parliament approves Mali military mission extension

Following Czech Senate's approval at the end of May, its Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday approved the extension of Czech military mission in Mali until the end of 2014.
The current Mali mission expires in June 2014.
At present, a total of 34 Czech soldiers are guarding the operation command in Bamako and four others are training local forces to be capable of fighting the Islamists independently in the north of the country.
Czech Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky said the Czech mission is assessed positively both by the EU and the Mali government. He said previously that he would like the Czechs to be deployed in Mali throughout the EU operation.
The EUTM (European Union Training Mission) in Mali, aimed at training units subordinate to the Bamako government, started in February 2013. It was to last until the end of May according to the original plans and was extended until May 2016 later.