The Netherlands has said it will send combat helicopters and around 380 troops to Mali.<br /><br />It will be the Dutch forces’ most significant foreign military operation since they were pulled out of Afghanistan in 2010.<br /><br />Mali imploded last year when Tuareg separatist rebels took up arms in the desert north, triggering a coup by soldiers angry over the government’s handling of the rebellion.<br /><br />Islamists took advantage of the chaos and seized the north, stoking fears in the West that the zone would become a launch pad for militant attacks and safe haven for criminal gangs operating alongside the various rebel groups. <br /><br />The Dutch operation will boost a UN peacekeeping mission to stabilise Mali.
