Spread of terrorism in Africa on Canada’s peacekeeping radar, says Sajjan
OTTAWA — Containing the spread of terrorism across Africa is a consideration for Canada as it mulls where best to contribute to a UN peacekeeping mission, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Wednesday.
The government has yet to make up its mind on where it will send its peacekeepers, in fulfillment of a major foreign policy priority, Sajjan said. But Canada wants to have an impact wherever it deploys troops, he added, and doesn’t want to send a contingent to a specific country simply for the sake of doing so.
Sources say a mission to Mali, the West African country where more than a dozen peacekeepers have been killed this year, is a serious option for the government.
“Mali was definitely on the radar screen,” said a well-placed source with knowledge of the process, who spoke on the condition they not be named because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter.