The Malian Army needs the help of the more experienced Nigerian Army to tackle its country’s own insurgents and terrorists. On Monday, it sought the support and cooperation of its Nigerian counterparts in training its personnel, particularly in the areas of armour and artillery.
The Malian Army Chief of Staff, Col.Maj. Abdrahamane Baby, who was on a courtesy visit to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai in Abuja, said the call was imperative to enable his country deal with its security challenges.
Baby said the visit was to seek the cooperation of Nigerian army in that regard, as both countries were facing the same challenges.
He said: “The aim of this visit is to explore further cooperation between the Nigerian Army and Malian Army.
“We are facing transnational threat of terrorism and we believe we need to get closer to see what we can learn from each other.
“That was why Malian army personnel were sent to Nigeria for training “so as to garner experiences in the areas of armour and artillery.”
Baby said the armies of both countries needed to share experiences and knowledge “as we both fight terrorism.’’
Responding, The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Buratai assured his counterpart that the Malian personnel would be given slots in armour and artillery training schools in Nigeria.
Buratai added that terrorists in both countries adopted same method of attacks, hitting soft targets and government installations. He said that theNigerian Army was ready to collaborate with Malian Army in checking attacks.
“This is because the threats of insurgency and terrorism in Northern Mali is also a threat to Nigeria,” he said.