'No UK troops in Mali' says minister 14.01.13
6British troops will not be deployed alongside French forces fighting rebels with links to al Qaida who are attempting to overthrow Mali's government, Defence Minister Andrew Robathan said.
The UK will send two C-17 transport planes to Mali and RAF ground crew may be stationed on the ground in the west African country briefly to service the aircraft, Mr Robathan told the Commons.
But he said British involvement in the operations should only last a week, telling MPs the Ministry of Defence had made no plans to commit further resources to the war-torn state.
Mr Robathan's comments came after Britain deployed the first of two C-17 aircraft to support French efforts to halt an advance by the rebels as they continue to fight the country's government.
But after landing in France to pick up supplies and troops, it was grounded after suffering a minor technical fault, a MoD spokesman said.
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