For the first time, soldiers of the British Army have fallen under the command of an officer of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).
This has occurred under the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which is aiding Mali during an Islamist insurgency.
The British Army deployed 300 men to the violence-wracked West African nation of Mali in December 2020 as part of the UK Task Force in support of MINUSMA. These men are under the command of a Chinese brigadier general commanding a sector of the U.N. zone in Mali.
The Chinese general was not identified, but is a member of the 7th Chinese peacekeeping force to Mali that arrived in May 2019. Some 430 PLA soldiers and medical personnel are part of this latest Chinese deployment to Mali. Included in this number are a combat unit of 210 men, a sapper (combat engineer) unit and a medical unit.
The British Army troops commanded by the Chinese general belong to the Light Dragoons and the Royal Anglian Regiment that arrived in Mali in December.
"I work for a Chinese Brigadier who is sector commander," said Lt. Col. Tom Robinson, commanding officer of the Light Dragoons. "He's a professional guy who I very much enjoy working with."
Robinson also said PLA peacekeepers are responsible for protecting the camp housing the British troops and provided a hospital to the MINUSMA mission.
There are currently more than 14,000 UN peacekeeping troops to protect Mali from attacks by Al Qaeda militants supported by Boko Haram and other armed Islamists. The UN also have to contend with sporadic attacks from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) seeking to create a separate state in northern Mali for the Tuareg people.
MINUSMA was established on April 25, 2013 after the Tuareg rebellion of 2012. It was officially deployed on July 1, and has become the UN's most dangerous peacekeeping mission. At least 209 peacekeepers were killed in action out of a force of 15,200 men as of mid-2020.
In December 2020, the UK announced an increase in the British Army commitment to MINUSMA. It deployed 300 soldiers drawn mainly from the Light Dragoons and the Royal Anglian Regiment to support U.N. peacekeepers in Mali.
Both units operate British-made Jackal armored vehicles for deep reconnaissance and rapid assault, Canadian-made Light Armored Vehicle II (LAV II) Coyote armored fighting vehicles and Force Protection Ocelot or Foxhound armored cars.
As of June 2020, China was the 10th largest troop contributor to U.N. peacekeeping operations, deploying more than 2,500 Chinese soldiers to trouble spots worldwide.
