Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support UK military personnel are providing to the (a) security services and (b) armed forces of Burkina Faso.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK strongly condemns the recent atrocity that took place in Ouagadougou on 15-16 January and is deeply concerned by the spread of violent extremism both into Burkina Faso and across the wider region. We offer our heartfelt sympathies to the families affected by this terrible act of terrorism. The UK is working hard with regional countries; close international partners; and multilateral organisations to increase their capacity to address the security threats they face. Our major regional contributions are in Nigeria; at the HQ of the Multi-National Joint Task Force; and in support of the EU Training Mission in Mali. We are, though, supporting the Burkina Faso armed forces, together with a number of other African militaries, through our participation in regional training exercises.