Six military operations have been conducted in West African Mali since 2013. The French had started, the Germans joined later. But now the French are withdrawing their troops – and the Bundeswehr is suddenly left defenseless.
Dozens of countries are involved in various military missions in West African Mali. The Bundeswehr is involved in two of them. However, neither the fight against jihadist groups nor the establishment of a Malian army have so far been successful. The country has not had an elected government for a year and a half. After tensions between the Europeans and the Malian military junta, the soldiers involved in the French operation Barkhane and the European mission Takuba are now to be withdrawn from the country, as the government in Paris announced on Thursday.
After France decided to withdraw its troops, the future of Bundeswehr operations in West African Mali is uncertain. “I have to say that I am very skeptical as to whether we will be able to extend the mandate with regard to EUTM,” said Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, referring to the EU training mission in the country. EUTM is the EU’s military training mission.
When participating in the UN mission Minusma, it will depend on whether the German soldiers can continue to be protected. “So far, this has been achieved through French skills. And if that is missing now, then we will urgently have to look for a solution,” said the SPD politician.
German Bundeswehr suddenly left to their own devices
Lambrecht named a military hospital and combat helicopters as skills that would be missing in the future. “We could certainly compensate for a hospital in a relatively simple and uncomplicated manner,” she explained. The other thing, however, is the question of attack helicopters for security. “That would be a completely different format and that would have to be discussed intensively with the parliamentarians,” said Lambrecht.
“If we now find out that the capabilities are not compensated by France, for example from the Niger/Mali border, or by other states, then we have to discuss whether the German Parliament is willing to adopt a completely different mandate is,” she added.
Lambrecht justified her skepticism about the EU mission with the political developments in Mali after the most recent putsch. Among other things, the question arises as to whether one can achieve one’s political goals and who one supports and trains. When you experience that the political transition process is postponed by elections by five years, “then that’s not how we understand this process,” she said. “Agreements were not kept.”
One of the core tasks of the approximately 13,000 Minusma blue helmet soldiers is ground and airborne reconnaissance. Last month, the Bundeswehr complained that the Malian authorities were hindering its deployment. Among other things, there was uncertainty about the flight rights, a German military transporter was denied the overflight in mid-January. However, planned flights are currently taking place as planned, said a spokesman for AFP’s operations command.
The aim of the EUTM mission is to train the domestic armed forces so that they can ensure stability and security in the Sahel region themselves. In neighboring Niger, as part of the “Gazelle” mission, combat swimmers from the Marine Special Forces Command (KSM) are taking on the training of local special forces – in the middle of the desert. “Due to the extensive range of skills of the special forces,” deployment in landlocked countries is also possible, says a spokesman for the Operations Command.
Joint Missions in Mali
France, the Bundeswehr’s most important ally, and several partners have now announced that they are ending their military anti-terrorist mission in Mali. The joint missions are to be completed by June of this year. Germany had recently stationed around 1,300 soldiers in Mali. Around 300 of them were seconded to EUTM Mali/Niger, the others to the United Nations Stabilization Mission (Minusma).
So far there have been six military operations in Mali. The French started 2013 with the year-long one Operations Several. The trigger for foreign military operations in Mali was the influx of weapons and fighters as a result of the civil war in Libya. French President François Hollande dispatched soldiers in January 2013 when separatist Tuaregs and jihadist fighters rebelled against the government in Bamako. It became France’s largest operation in Africa since the end of the colonial era. The Bundeswehr sent transport aircraft and provided logistical support.
France’s “Operation Barkhane” (since 2014)
Under the new name Barkhane, the French soldiers were to fight jihadist groups in Mali and neighboring countries. At times 5500 soldiers were deployed. As part of this operation, France used armed drones for the first time. The French soldiers supported the UN mission and the EU training mission, but did not allow themselves to be involved. On Thursday, France announced the withdrawal of the soldiers involved in Barkhane.
UN Mission Minusma (since 2013)
The United Nations peacekeeping mission was supposed to help stabilize the country, but quickly became the target of jihadist groups. The number of soldiers has increased to 15,000. The Bundeswehr is currently involved with around 1,000 soldiers, the upper limit is 1,100. With around 250 operational personnel killed, Minusma is currently the UN mission with the highest losses.
EU training mission EUTM (since 2013)
The Bundeswehr is currently involved with around 300 soldiers in the mission to train the regional armed forces. In the first year the French were in charge. Last year, more than two dozen nations were involved, totaling about 1,000 soldiers. The training took place at the Malian officer school in Koulikoro, among other places, but was severely reduced due to the corona pandemic.
European Task Force Takuba (since 2020)
Under pressure from France, several European countries, including Estonia, Romania and Sweden, agreed on a joint mission in Mali. The operation is under the command of France, Germany is not involved. Macron saw Takuba as an example of a common European defence. In recent weeks, the Malian military junta has increasingly obstructed the deployment of the approximately 800-strong task force, for example by expelling the Danish contingent.
On Thursday, Paris and its European partners announced the start of the withdrawal of soldiers involved in the Takuba mission. The Élysée Palace cited the postponement of the elections in Mali and “numerous obstructions” by the military junta as the reason for the decision.
Russian Military Advisor (since 2021)
The Malian military junta says it has brought Russian military advisers into the country, who, among other things, have taken over the military base in Timbuktu that had been abandoned by the French. According to French information, there are at least 1,000 mercenaries from the private Wagner group, which is close to the Kremlin. These had already been hired by the Central African Republic to protect the government and in return had enriched themselves with the mineral resources. Their presence is one of the reasons for the announced withdrawal of European soldiers.
Source: Stern
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