The Bundeswehr mission in Mali has recently been regularly obstructed by the local military junta. Therefore, the German soldiers should be withdrawn – but only in a year.
The Bundestag last extended the Bundeswehr mission in West African Mali by another year. Against the votes of the entire opposition, the parliamentary majority decided to withdraw up to 1,400 German soldiers from the crisis state on May 31, 2024.
The Bundeswehr has been involved in the Minusma blue helmet mission to stabilize the country for ten years, but has recently been massively obstructed by Mali’s military junta. For example, they refused flight permits for the Heron reconnaissance drone operated by the Germans on behalf of the UN.
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group had therefore called for the German armed forces’ current largest and most dangerous foreign mission to be ended by the end of the year at the latest. The traffic light coalition justified the later withdrawal with the presidential elections planned for February 2024 in Mali. In addition, a deduction must be orderly, reliable and coordinated with international partners, explained Agnieszka Brugger, deputy leader of the Greens parliamentary group.
Hahn: The security of the soldiers is not guaranteed
However, the defense policy spokesman for the Union faction, Florian Hahn (CSU), emphasized that the security and care of the soldiers were no longer guaranteed and that there was no longer any talk of fulfilling the order. In Hahn’s words, protecting the announced elections is not a sufficient argument either: “You all know very well that these elections will probably not take place.” Resistance to the extension of the mandate also came from the AfD and the left, who – unlike the Union parties – had already rejected the assignment in previous years.
The Greens parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann criticized the position and voting behavior of the Union parties. “It puts our international reliability in question when an abrupt withdrawal is required in such an operation.” The fact that the Union did not grant the Bundeswehr the time it had requested “and for the first time refused to approve the mandate because of a period of a few months is in no way comprehensible in view of the good work of the soldiers”.
Kosovo mission also extended
The Bundeswehr mission in Kosovo was also extended by another year. As part of the international KFOR mission, the forces are tasked with securing the stability of the Balkan state, where tensions with the Serb minority still exist. At the moment, however, there are only around 70 German soldiers on site.
According to a “Spiegel” report, the Bundeswehr’s foreign missions last year were significantly more expensive than expected. Instead of the planned 700 million euros, costs of 813.9 million euros were incurred, the magazine writes, citing a paper from the Ministry of Defense for the Budget Committee of the Bundestag. Accordingly, the increase in costs is justified, among other things, by inflation and the effects of the corona pandemic. Another reason for the additional spending is the deterioration of the security situation in Mali.
Source: Stern
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