Germany has announced that it will begin withdrawing its troops from Mali by May 2024, completing its decade-long mission in the country, a government spokesperson said on Tuesday. The decision comes as Mali faces increasing instability and insecurity, with a resurgence of Islamist militancy in the north of the country.
Germany has been one of the main contributors to theinternational effort to stabilize Mali since 2013, when French forces intervened to push back an Islamist insurgency. Since then, Germany has had up to 1,000 troops deployed in Mali as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA.
Recent years have seen the German government come under pressure to withdraw its troops from Mali, as the security situation in the country has deteriorated. In 2019, a German soldier was killed in Mali, and there have been a number of other incidents in which German troops have come under attack. The German government has so far resisted calls for a withdrawal, but the continued violence in Mali may make it difficult to maintain this position.
The future of Germany’s military mission in Mali has been in question for some time due to repeated disputes with the ruling military junta in Bamako, and the recent arrival of Russian forces in Gao has only added to Berlin’s concerns about an increasing Russian military presence in the country. While the German mission has been able to provide some stability in the region, the continuing instability and violence makes it difficult to maintain a long-term presence. With the Russian forces now in Mali, it is unclear what the future of the German mission will be, but it is clear that it will be a difficult task to keep the peace in the country.
The German government has said that it will extend the mandate for its mission in Afghanistan by one year, to May 2023. This will be the last extension of the mission, and will allow for a “structured exit” from the country, according to government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit. The mission has been in place since 2001, and has been extended several times.
The election in Mali scheduled for February 2024 will be taken into account by the international community, said Hebestreit. This is because the stability of Mali is important for the region as a whole. The international community will be monitoring the situation closely and will provide support as needed.
The decision, reported earlier by Reuters, is subject to approval by the Bundestag lower house of parliament.
The decision followed talks between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock who were at odds on the issue.
The defence ministry had been lobbying for a withdrawal of German troops from Mali, but the foreign ministry warned against leaving Mali to an increasing Russian presence. The foreign ministry pushed for German troops to stay on, in order to maintain stability in the region. However, after much deliberation, it was decided that the German troops would be withdrawn from Mali.
Lambrecht said that the German military presence in Mali will come to an end in 2024, but that the withdrawal will begin next year. He stressed that the withdrawal will be orderly and closely coordinated with the transition process in Mali. The German military has been providing training and support to the Malian security forces as part of the international effort to stabilise the country and help it transition to democracy.
The May 2024 deadline to withdraw German troops from Mali was first reported by Spiegel magazine. The deadline signifies a compromise as it means that the German troops will still be there for a presidential election in Mali. The German government has been under pressure to withdrawal its troops from Mali after a series of attacks by Islamist militants. However, the government has been hesitant to do so as it fears that a withdrawal would lead to a worsening of the security situation in the country.
In June, the military junta in Bamako issued a decree setting a two-year timetable, to be counted from March 2022, to hold elections and restore civilian rule. This is a positive development for the people of Mali, who have been living under military rule since a coup in August 2020. However, it is important to note that the junta has not set a date for the transition to civilian rule, and it is possible that they could postpone the elections if they feel that it is in their interests to do so.
The United Nations said it has not yet received official notification of the German withdrawal from MINUSMA, the peacekeeping mission in Mali. The UN said it was “deeply concerned” about the potential impact of the German withdrawal, and called on other countries to continue their support for MINUSMA and the people of Mali.
“The mission is currently assessing the impact of these withdrawals on its operations, and we are already in discussions with a number of countries in order to fill any gaps,” deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
In mid-November, Britain became the latest Western country to announce the withdrawal of its forces from Mali, saying it would pull out its 300 troops. The move comes as Mali faces increasing instability, with a number of attacks on Western interests in the country.
The British troops had been deployed to Mali as part of a UN peacekeeping mission. However, the mission has become increasingly dangerous, with a number of attacks on UN troops. In October, a UN peacekeeper was killed in an attack on a UN base in Mali.
The British withdrawal from Mali is a sign of the increasing insecurity in the country. Mali has been facing a number of challenges in recent years, including a civil war, the rise of Islamist militant groups.
In recent years, the security situation in Mali has deteriorated significantly, due in large part to the presence of Islamist militants in the country. In response to this, the United Nations established the MINUSMA peacekeeping mission in 2013.
However, tensions between the Malian authorities and MINUSMA have been growing in recent months. There have been several instances where the two sides have clashed, and it seems clear that the Malian government is increasingly frustrated with the mission.
It is essential that the UN and the Malian government find a way to work together more effectively, otherwise the security situation in Mali will only continue to deteriorate.
Since its inception in 2013, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has amassed a troop strength of approximately 12,000 military personnel from close to 60 different countries.
The three largest contributors to MINUSMA are Chad, Bangladesh and Egypt, who have collectively provided over 2,700 soldiers to the peacekeeping effort. In addition to its strong military presence, MINUSMA also has over 1,000 police officers deployed throughout Mali in support of the country’s security and stability.
Europe’s relations with Mali have deteriorated since a military coup in 2020 and since the government invited fighters from the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked private military company, to support its fight against insurgents.
The presence of the Wagner Group has been a source of concern for European policymakers, who see it as an extension of Russian influence in the region. In addition, the deteriorating security situation in Mali has led to a significant increase in the number of refugees and migrants seeking to reach Europe, further straining relations.
France announced its decision to withdraw its troops from Mali earlier this year, after nearly a decade of involvement in the country. The move came after a series of terrorist attacks in Mali, which prompted international concerns about the security situation in the country. France’s withdrawal underscores the challenges faced by the international community in addressing the root causes of terrorism and instability in the region.
Agencies contributed to this reportÂ
