The Malian military has received two dozen armored vehicles from Qatar.
In a statement on December 27, 2018, the Qatari Ministry of Defense announced it had delivered 24 Storm armored vehicles to the Malian Armed Forces. The vehicles were donated free of charge.
The Malian military confirmed the delivery and said the vehicles will be operated in environments with a risk of improvised explosive devices.
Storm is an armored personnel carrier built by Stark Motors, a Qatari firm launched in 2017. The vehicles are known to have entered service with the Qatari military as well as other security forces, but the delivery to Mali appears to be use in a foreign military. Storm APCs can carry at least eight troops, who are protected by the vehicle’s CEN B6 level protection.
Mali faces persistent insurgency in its northern regions, as well as instability in eastern neighbor Niger and southeastern neighbor Burkina Faso. Along with Chad and Mauritania, these five states have deepened security cooperation, with French backing, as part of the ‘G5 Sahel Joint Force’ aimed at fighting jihadist militants in particular.
Military markets analyst, covering Eurasia, Middle East, and Africa.
