Norwegian Armed Forces rejoin MINUSMA in Mali
From May to November 2019, the Norwegian Armed Forces sends personnel to Mali to participate in the UN operation MINUSMA. Norway contributes with a Hercules C-130J as a tactical transport capacity to transport personnel and cargo around the country.
Norway participated in the UN operation in 2016 and now sends another contribution to this important mission.
NORTAD (Norwegian Tactical Airlift Detachment) will fly various types of cargo on behalf of the United Nations in Mali using one of Norway’s C-130J Hercules transport aircraft.
“This can be anything from transporting persons to shipping supplies and fuel supplies. The aircraft can further drop personnel and equipment by parachute. The security personnel will be responsible for guarding «Camp Bifrost» (Norse for the rainbow leading to Valhalla) and in the technical area at the home airbase,” the Norwegian Armed Forces reports.
The UN has a great need for air transport in Mali, and the Norwegian contribution is, therefore, both long-awaited and important.
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Six months
The detachment from Norway consists of about 60 women and men with backgrounds from various disciplines that are necessary to solve the assignment. The detention will be in Mali for 6 months. The Norwegians who deploy to Mali stay at «Camp Bifrost», located in the capital city of Bamako. More than 15,000 participate in uniform from the 56 countries partaking in the operation. Many of those are involuntary and poorly trained troops from nearby countries.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (UNISMA) is perhaps the most difficult UN operation currently underway. As of late February 2019, more than 191 MINUSMA troops had been killed in hit-and-run attacks and bombings by Islamist groups during the ongoing conflict. The conflict is by an large a product of the civil war in Libya.
© Norwegian Armed Forces / #Norway Today
