Defence Minister Peter MacKay takes part in a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Wednesday December 12, 2012. The Harper government is examining whether to dispatch Canadian troops to help train an African force whose purpose would be to take back a vast swath of Mali from an off-shoot of al-Qaeda.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
December 30, 2012 - 4:34 PM
HALIFAX - The Harper government is examining whether to dispatch Canadian troops to help train an African force whose purpose would be to take back a vast swath of Mali from an off-shoot of al-Qaeda.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay, speaking in Halifax Sunday, said what form of military assistance can be provided to a growing international campaign is something that's under active discussion.
He said the government is contemplating what contribution Canada could make.
The United Nations recently decided to back a proposal from Economic Community of West African States — ECOWAS — to send 3,300 troops to the region.
Canadian special forces troops were active in the west African country for several training missions prior to the coup last March that installed a shaky interim government.
Those missions also took place before Islamic Maghreb — known as AQIM — overran much of the northern portion of the impoverished nation.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012