The German government will extend one last time and for a year, in May 2023, its intervention within the UN mission in Mali.
MO12345LEMONDE with AFP
Germany intends to withdraw its troops from Mali by May 2024, ending their commitment to the mission of the United Nations (UN) in this country (Minusma), announced Tuesday the government.
“The German government has decided today to offer the Bundestag to extend for the last time of a year, in May 2023, the mandate of the intervention of the Bundeswehr in Mali, so that this intervention ends Structured, after ten years, “said spokesman Steffen Hébestreit in a statement. This final extension “takes into account the elections in Mali, scheduled for February 2024”, it is said of the same source.
The decision was communicated at the end of a meeting between the Chancellery, the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs, in which Chancellor Olaf Scholz participated.
It comes as the future of the UN mission, in place since 2013 to stabilize the country threatened with collapse under the jihadist thrust, is increasingly uncertain: six countries have decided in space a few months to stop or suspend the participation of their soldiers.
The Bundeswehr is an important contributor to this mission with a contingent of up to 1,400 men. A government source told the France-Presse agency last week that the withdrawal of the Germans would take place by the end of 2023.
The choice to withdraw from the UN mission, and the precise calendar, caused tensions within the power coalition in Germany, have reported several media. The Minister of Defense, Christine Lambrecht, resulting from the Chancellor’s Social Democratic Party, and the army, has been pressure for months in favor of withdrawal, arguing that the Malian military junta prevents troops from carrying out their mission , reported the weekly Spiegel.
But the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, of the Greens Party, opposed a withdrawal, affirming that the mission was necessary to protect the civilian population of the country and that a departure would undermine international reputation of Germany.
The city of Gao, in eastern Mali, houses the main camp of the German army, which mainly participates in recognition operations. Bundeswehr recognition flights to ensure the safety of their patrols have experienced several interruptions in recent months due to tensions with the Malian government, or administrative problems.
The Defense Ministry said last week that Mali had not granted the authorizations required for its drones since October 11. The military junta in power in Mali initially pushed the French troops who intervened via the soldiers of the “barkhane” force, and left the country this summer, accentuating the pressure on the UN peacekeepers.