Today the Federal Cabinet will extend the mandate for the Bundeswehr mission in Mali for the last time. At the end of May 2024 it will probably be over. What makes it so difficult to use?
If anyone is allowed to draw comparisons with Afghanistan, then it is Sergeant Matze. The soldier was deployed to the Hindu Kush four times and is now in Mali for the Bundeswehr. And he is one of those who regularly leave the sheltered camp in Gao for patrols. The rides here are “completely different,” says Matze. Here in Mali, he doesn’t have the “uneasy feeling” with which he regularly drove out in Afghanistan.
In many towns and cities, he was greeted happily by children as the commander of the leading vehicle: “When there are small children around, I have a feeling of security. And that the likelihood of something happening is lower.” Scenes from Mali, which are more reminiscent of the hopeful early years of what later became a dangerous mission in Afghanistan.
Which does not mean that Mali is completely free of danger: a German patrol was fired upon in March. In June 2021, twelve Bundeswehr soldiers were injured when a car bomb exploded near a convoy of UN troops.
Doubts about the meaningfulness of the mission
The commander of the Bundeswehr contingent in Gao, Heiko Bohnsack, explains the consequences in an interview with the ARD Capital Studio: “We drive out in such a way that we are always so big and unsavory that we can control this dangerous situation.” The Malian civilian population, on the other hand, finds it difficult to control the dangerous situation, and is often defenseless against the two main terrorist groups known as “Islamic State” and “Al Qaeda”.
The security situation for the locals will certainly not improve if the Germans officially start withdrawing in June and leave the country for good by the end of May 2024. The main reasons for the end of the mission are certainly not the endangerment of the Germans, but, among other things, doubts about the meaningfulness of the mission.
The authorities in Mali have been preventing German reconnaissance drones from being allowed to fly for months. “I made it clear that the possibilities of the mission through decisions regarding flying drones and other things were no longer possible to the extent that an operation would have really made sense,” emphasized Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at his Mali- Visit in mid-April.
“A completely pointless effort”
In addition, not far from the German camp in Gao, directly at the military airport, Russian Wagner mercenaries have settled down. Mali’s military government is now relying on them in the fight against terrorism. The Russian forces are obviously here at Mali’s invitation, Commander Bohnsack confirms. “When we meet them, we wave at each other in a friendly way,” says the colonel. For obvious reasons, however, there is no cooperation.
Now the opposition in the Bundestag is asking the question: If the conditions are so unfavorable – why not withdraw immediately and extend it by another year? It was “a completely senseless mission” – and a dangerous one at that, criticized the CSU defense politician Florian Hahn in an interview with the ARD Capital Studio.
In any case, it would take the troops almost a year to withdraw from Mali in an orderly manner, counters Pistorius, who is now Defense Minister and who initially toyed with the idea of a quicker end. It is no secret that the Federal Foreign Office would have liked to stay longer because they are concerned about Germany’s credibility in the world.
Civilian instead of military aid
But what does the schedule now set in stone with the withdrawal of around 1,100 Bundeswehr soldiers by the end of May 2024 – if the Bundestag agrees to the so-called “phase-out mandate” – mean for the crisis-ridden country of Mali? “We’re closing a chapter,” SPD politician Pistorius tries to calm down. But the cooperation continues on other levels.
This is exactly what Development Minister Svenja Schulze, who recently visited the region in a double pack with Pistorius, is trying to underpin with the so-called “Sahel-Plus Initiative”, which she is launching today. This means that in addition to the Sahel countries such as Mali and Niger, coastal countries such as Senegal and the Ivory Coast are also to be included in civilian aid.
Above all, it should be about getting young people jobs in agriculture and thus counteracting the growth of terrorism in the desert states. “Should state-free spaces continue to spread on our neighboring African continent, this would have serious humanitarian effects in the region and could pose more and more security challenges to Europe,” says Svenja Schulze from the ministry.
Despite “Sahel Plus”: It’s no secret that development cooperation in the crisis-ridden state of Mali itself is being reduced in parallel with the withdrawal of the German armed forces. So it is questionable whether it will be possible to stop the key Sahel region heading towards the abyss with a significantly smaller military footprint than before.