British Army Exercises Ahead Of UN Peacekeeping Operation

SALISBURY, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 15: A member of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) search team looks on as a Harris T7 multi-mission robotic system is deployed during their Mission Rehearsal Exercise ahead of deployment to Mali, on the Ministry of Defence training area on Salisbury Plain, on October 15, 2020 in Salisbury, England. Later this year, 300 military personnel will join the UN in Mali on a peacekeeping mission and help counter instability following a coup which ousted President Keïta in August. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was formed in response to the seizing of territory by militant Islamists following a coup in 2012. The crisis in Mali has thrust 12.9 million into a precarious security situation, according to a UN estimate, with 6.8 million in need of humanitarian assistance. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)