Conflicts: West Africa crisis: Germany is pursuing a new Sahel strategy

In view of the escalating crises in West African Mali and Burkina Faso, Germany wants to intensify cooperation with comparatively stable and reliable states in the Sahel region. “The federal government will therefore expand its commitment, especially in Niger,” says a strategy paper from the federal government that was presented to the German Press Agency in Berlin on Friday.

As the most stable country in the region and the only NATO partner in the Sahel, Mauritania is another promising partner for closer cooperation. This is to prevent the crisis from destabilizing the whole of West Africa.

Within the framework of the European Union and together with other partners such as the USA and Great Britain, Germany will become more involved “where the support promises the prospect of positive change,” says the ten-page concept. Where support for central state structures does not promise any positive effects due to human rights violations or authoritarian governments, greater emphasis will be placed on cooperation with regional or municipal structures as well as with civil society and non-state actors. This is currently the case in Chad and Mali in particular.

2.7 million refugees in the Sahel

The measures were also aimed at preventing the collapse of the state in Burkina Faso and the spread of the crises to the neighboring West African coastal countries on the Gulf of Guinea. According to the federal government, around 2.7 million people in the Sahel were fleeing at the beginning of 2023 – the majority of them as internally displaced persons. According to estimates by the United Nations (UN), almost 18 million people are dependent on humanitarian aid.

“Arc of Stability” around Mali and Burkina Faso

The federal government also wants to “contribute to the development of an additional arc of stability around Mali and Burkina Faso,” it said. Within the framework of the European Union (EU) and with international partners such as the USA or Great Britain, there will be campaigns to support African initiatives to combat terrorism more than before. Points of contact here are, for example, the African Union (AU) considering setting up an African intervention force, the planned standby force of the West African economic community Ecowas or plans of the so-called Accra Initiative, which includes Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin and Togo.

German soldiers are taking part in the new EU partnership mission in Niger (EUMPM Niger), which is intended to contribute to the further development of the Nigerien armed forces in the fight against Islamist terrorists and armed gangs. The Bundestag had given the green light for this at the end of April. In addition, the German contribution to the civilian EU police mission EUCAP Sahel Niger is to be expanded.

Baerbock, Pistorius, Schulze: remain reliable partners

The concept entitled “Redefinition and adjustment of the federal government’s commitment to the Sahel” was presented on Wednesday by the ministers Annalena Baerbock (Foreign Office, Greens), Boris Pistorius (Defense, SPD) and Svenja Schulze (Development, SPD). of the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag committees for foreign affairs, defense and development. The Bundestag does not have to discuss and vote on the new strategy.

Germany will continue to be “a reliable partner in the Sahel – especially with regard to states and actors who share our values ​​and count on our support,” write Baerbock, Pistorius and Schulze. “In the short term, we must prevent the crises from spreading further and potentially destabilizing all of West Africa.” However, solutions can only come from the affected countries themselves and must be supported by the international community. Persistence and flexibility are required.

Bundeswehr should support presidential election in Mali

At the beginning of May, the federal cabinet decided to end the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali on May 31, 2024 after almost eleven years. The 1,100 Bundeswehr soldiers stationed there are to be withdrawn by this date. The Bundeswehr has been involved in the UN mission MINUSMA to stabilize the country since mid-2013. Mali fell partially into the hands of Islamist terrorists in 2012. The deployment of the Bundeswehr had recently been repeatedly obstructed by the military junta in Mali, which is considered to be close to Russia.

The new strategy paper states that the German contingent in Mali should contribute to supporting the transition process on the way to a democratically legitimized government “to the extent possible and taking into account the ongoing withdrawal”. This also includes support for the presidential election planned for February 2024.