Britain’s Prime Minister ,David Cameron says UK will support French mission to drive Islamists out  of the country .The Prime Minister spoke to French President Francois Hollande on Sunday evening about further possible British help for French forces in Mali,The Guardian Reports

The UK said it was “ready to provide further assistance where we can and depending what French requests may be”.He however maintained that the forces will not engage in combat.

Government sources said decisions on troop deployments were expected to be made in the coming days as France confirms its exact requirements. One source said that Britain could easily dispatch 200 troops if France requested such a number.

UK Prime Minister ,David Cameroon

Britain is prepared to provide hundreds of troops to help the operation and is considering a few options:

• Forming part of an EU military training mission in Mali. The British contribution to this would be in the “tens”, according to Downing Street.

• Training troops from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) in neighbouring countries for possible operations on Mali. This is likely to be the main focus of Britain’s contribution because Ecowas members include many countries with strong links to Britain. British troops could be used to train Nigerian forces.

• Providing “force protection” for the trainers. This would be armed protection but would not amount to a combat role.

By UP