Mali: The Military Council receives new Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones
The ruling Transitional Military Council in Mali received more than 20 Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones on Thursday.
These drones were delivered during an official ceremony held at the air base in Sinou, in the presence of the transitional president, Colonel Asimi Goeta, and the prime minister, Shogel Kokala Maiga, in addition to several government ministers, the head of the National Transitional Council, and a number of senior military officials.
The Malian Defense Minister Colonel Sadio Camara said that the acquisition of these aircraft will enable “improvement and raising of counter-terrorism capabilities, and instilling more confidence in the hearts of the men participating in the theater of operations”.
Camara added, “The time hasn’t yet come to evaluate the situation, but every Malian citizen can appreciate the progress achieved since the beginning of the transitional period”.
The military official spoke about the Bayraktar TB2 drones allowing monitoring national territory, detecting suspicious targets, tracking them, and striking them accurately if necessary.
During the past two years, the Malian transitional authorities have previously obtained a number of Turkish drones, and have also received important military support from their Russian partner.
Following the receipt of the new Turkish drones, the Malian army regains control of the city of Kidal, after a decade of control by the Azawad Movements, and also follows the completion of the withdrawal of the UN forces from Malian lands.
