BERLIN
German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen says the German army should show more international engagement.
In an interview published on Sunday in "Der Spiegel" magazine, Leyen discussed the Africa mission of the German army.
"We cannot look to the side, especially for humanitarian reasons when murder and rape are on the agenda," she said.
She said the number of the German troops now in Mali could increase,
"The upper limit of the mandate is 180, and 99 soldiers are in the region now. It could be possible that we increase that number. Our allies expect this from us, especially the French government."
She said the upper limit of the mandate might be increased to 250 soldiers.
Leyen appears to be taking a different tack from former German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who argued for military restraint.
"Europe cannot develop in the game of global forces if some always hold back when it comes to military operations," she said.
She said Germany needed to take more international responsibility as part of its alliances.
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