The Qatari Armed forces successfully delivered a consignment of 24 armoured vehicles to their counterparts in Mali yesterday.

The consignment was delivered by the Air Transport Wing of the Amiri Air Force onboard three C-17 military aircraft, reported Gulf Times.

Brigadier General Moustapha Drabo, director of equipment, finance and transport of the Armed Forces of Mali, and Hamad bin Jaber Al Khayarin, Qatar’s charge d’affaires at the Qatari embassy in Mali, formally received the consignment.

The vehicles are expected to be used by the Malian army operating in areas with mines and improvised explosives.

“There will now be permanent cooperation between our armies in the fields of training, unit equipment and military exchanges between our countries,” a Qatari official was quoted as saying by The News International.

Moustapha Drabo said the vehicles would help “protect Malian forces against ambushes, which is the tactic used by the terrorists.”

Mali has been struggling to return to stability after Islamist extremists took control of the north in early 2012, prompting a military intervention by France.

The extremists were routed in the French operation in 2013, but vast stretches of the landlocked African state remain out of government control.

Qatar’s efforts are expected to contribute to strengthening international efforts to combat terrorism and establish security not only in Mali but also in the Sahel countries known as the G5.