EU, 2 other nations meet to pledge Mali trainers

BRUSSELS (AP) — EU countries are meeting Tuesday in Brussels to pledge personnel and other support for a military training mission to Mali, an EU official said.

The EU envisions a mission of 500 people, up to half of them military trainers, the official said. The purpose is to turn the Malian army into a force that can control the vast African country once international soldiers wrest the north from Islamist rebels.