French soldier inside a military helicopter in Gao, northern Mali, Friday, May 19, 2017. is keeping the door open to sending more helicopters to Mali to support Canada's peacekeeping mission there. Christophe Petit Tesson / THE CANADIAN PRESS

A retired general who led Canadian troops in one of the biggest battles during the war in Afghanistan says the government’s plan for a peacekeeping mission in war-torn Mali is focused too heavily on the military.

As the government readies more than 200 Canadian Forces personnel along with combat and troop-carrier helicopters, it should include civil engagement, says former Major-General David Fraser.

Fraser, commander of more than 2,000 Canadian troops and personnel during a fierce 2006 battle between Canadians and Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, said Monday Canada’s Mali mission is “very military.”

In an appearance on CBC Radio’s The Current, Fraser said he supports the government decision to send Canadian forces on their first UN mission under the Trudeau Liberals.

But he said the government should learn from what Canadians accomplished on the non-military side of the war in Afghanistan.

“This was about talking, this was about building, what we brought to this conflict was a multicultural, multi-ethnic, a whole-of-government team Canada approach,” Fraser said of Canada’s Afghanistan mission.

No new details have emerged about the government’s plan for a UN mission to Mali since Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland announced it in March.

The only confirmed components consist of two Chinook troop-transport helicopters to carry peacekeepers from other countries and four Griffon combat helicopters as escorts for the Chinooks. There has been at least one report another country, Ecquador, could supply two attack helicopters for more robust defence against attacks from Islamic groups battling the Mali government.

The government is expected to deploy up to 250 aircrew and other support personnel.

The war has been deadly for UN peacekeepers from African countries since it began in 2013, with more than 160 killed in the warring.

As of Monday, Canada’s Global Affairs international risk level advisory for Mali was (in capital letters) “AVOID ALL TRAVEL.”

Fraser, commander of the Canadian troops in Kandahar when four Canadian soldiers died in one day during direct combat against hundreds of Taliban fighters, said Canada should apply the methods of civilian engagement it used in Afghanistan to Mali.

“When we go to Mali, let’s take that whole of government approach, it’s all of the stuff that we’ve done in Afghanistan. You can apply the same template to our UN missions,” he said.

“Right now, it seems very penny-packeted, it seems very military and it’s not in keeping with the totality of what Canadians are coming out of Afghanistan, how we had a whole of government approach” Fraser said.

“Why are we not applying that in a more cohesive fashion where you take the helicopters, the C-130 Hercules aircraft, put some CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) in there, put some foreign affairs in there?” he told The Current Host Anna-Maria Tremonti.

The Canadians won a tactical victory during the two-week 2006 battle against Taliban soldiers in Operation Medusa, but the Taliban forces who were forced out of the region eventually returned to resume hit-and-run attacks against NATO soldiers.

“I’m suggesting that we look at the lessons of operation Medusa and what we got out of that,” Fraser said. “Our 12, 14 years of Afghanistan, and we could probably apply that to every other mission when we go around the world, including Mali.”

The Canadian Forces personnel are expected to be deployed to the city of Gao, in the rebel-torn region of northern Mali and near a massive French military operation.

Canadian development and humanitarian assistance to Mali totalled $152 million in 2014-2015, government figures show.

Canadian mining investments in Mali were estimated at more than one billion dollars in 2014, says the Global Affairs site.