The Bundeswehr mission in Mali is coming to an end: the mission is to be continued until 2024, but then it will be ended, according to ministry circles. The decision was preceded by disagreements between the ministries.
The federal government initially wants to continue the deployment of German soldiers in West African Mali, but also wants to pursue a concrete plan for the withdrawal. With a final mandate in the coming year, the conditions for the deduction are to be created. This was the result of a top-level meeting led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in Berlin on Tuesday. A full withdrawal will take about a year, according to previous estimates by military planners. Previously they had also reported. The federal government wants to end the deployment of the Bundeswehr in the West African crisis country Mali by May 2024 at the latest.
The mandate for German participation in the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma is to be extended “for the last time” by one year in May 2023, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Tuesday after consultations with the federal government in Berlin. The aim is “to let this assignment expire in a structured manner after ten years”. “In particular, the elections in Mali, which are scheduled for February 2024, should be taken into account.”
Other states have already withdrawn from Mali
With this compromise, a difference of opinion between Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), who wanted a continuation, and the more critical Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), seemed to be defused. Recently there had been repeated disputes between the military rulers in Mali and the UN mission Minusma, for which Germany provides soldiers.
Various states have already withdrawn from the UN mission. Last week Britain announced the withdrawal of its Minusma troops. France, as one of the most important participants, has already ended its mission – this tore a large gap in the military equipment of the UN mission. The envisaged withdrawal of the Bundeswehr is likely to call into question the future of the UN mission in Mali in general.
The UN mission serves to protect the civilian population in Mali. It is considered to be the Bundeswehr’s most dangerous mission abroad at the moment. The Bundeswehr is currently involved with up to 1,400 soldiers in the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma, which has been stationed in Mali since 2013.
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The military rules in Mali
A military government that has close ties to Russia has been in power in Mali since last year. Around a thousand Russian mercenaries are said to be in the country. The work of the UN troops is difficult under the ruling military junta. Currently, all flights, whether by transport planes, helicopters or drones, must be approved in advance by the Malian government. This release often does not take place or only with a very long delay.
Islamist militias have been trying for around ten years to turn the Sahel state of Mali into a staging area for jihadism. Socially and ethnically charged conflicts exacerbate instability. Since 2013, international troops – including the Bundeswehr – have been trying to stop the Islamists. But the hoped-for stabilization did not materialize. Democracy in Mali collapsed: Since 2021, military putschists have ruled under interim president Assimi Goïta.
Note: This article has been updated.
Source: Stern
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