Malian soldiers and international forces paraded through the capital Bamako yesterday during a public holiday marking the 53rd anniversary of the founding of the west African nation’s army. Malian soldiers were joined in the Boulevard de l’Independance by UN peacekeepers, members of the European Union mission training Mali’s army and troops from Operation Serval, France’s military mission which ousted armed jihadists from its former colony last year. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian watched the Army Day parade alongside generals from Mali, the United Nations and Serval. On Sunday Keita had paid tribute to the Malian army, announcing in a speech after Le Drian’s arrival that a new military law was to be adopted which would strengthen the capabilities of the troops over the next five years.