The Bundeswehr’s last major foreign mission with more than 1,000 soldiers is coming to an end. The German government wants to phase out participation in the UN stabilization mission MINUSMA in West African Mali. It should be proposed to the Bundestag to extend the mandate, which is valid until May 31, 2023, for the last time in order to organize an orderly withdrawal by May 2024 at the latest. This is the result of a top-level talk between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) on Tuesday in the Chancellery in Berlin.
Berlin is thus following the example of other European nations such as France, Great Britain and Sweden, which have either already withdrawn their troops from the country or announced this step due to ongoing tensions with the Malian rulers. The Bundeswehr is currently still deployed in Mali with up to 1,400 soldiers. It is the last major foreign mission after the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, which ended in a debacle.
The mission in Mali had been hanging in the balance for months. In May 2021, the military, supported by international aid, overthrew the interim government. It was the second military coup in a short period of time. The climate towards the western allies has changed. The military junta has brought Russian mercenaries into the country, who are waging a brutal anti-terror fight without regard for the civilian population. Elections are delayed.
The German reconnaissance drone flew for the last time in early October
The Bundeswehr complains of harassment by those in power in Mali. Flights that were used to routinely exchange personnel have been repeatedly prohibited in the past. According to information from Süddeutsche Zeitung could the German Heron-Reconnaissance drone, which makes a significant contribution to creating the situational picture for the Minusma stabilization mission, has not been used for a month and a half. In a confidential report dated November 18, which reached Parliament and which the Süddeutsche Zeitung is available, it is said: The drone was still unable to take off “due to a lack of Malian flight permits”. According to the report, the drone was last used on October 11.
According to military experts, an orderly withdrawal should take at least six to nine months. Weapons and sensitive equipment must be returned to Germany. The Bundeswehr maintains a large camp in Gao. The Afghanistan withdrawal had also shown that work had not been done early enough to also fly out local staff, local helpers of the Bundeswehr. Thousands of them remained in the country because Germany was surprised by the country’s collapse in Afghanistan. Eva Högl, the Bundestag Commissioner for the Armed Forces, pointed out early on that this must not be allowed to happen again in Mali.
The decision to withdraw was preceded by a hard struggle between the Foreign Ministry on the one hand and the Ministry of Defense and the Chancellery on the other. After the attack on Ukraine, Chancellor Scholz had reset the priorities for the Bundeswehr and supported Lambrecht’s line. From now on, everything else has to be subordinated to national and alliance defense, he said. Military operations in Mali no longer seemed possible.
Baerbock wanted to stick to the mission
Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, on the other hand, wanted to stick to the stabilization mission if possible. She emphasized Germany’s international responsibility. Chaos and a spread of terrorism in the Sahel would have a direct impact on Europe, on migration and on the risk of attacks. African countries and European partners have also asked Baerbock that Germany continue to be involved in Africa and participate in the United Nations mission. However, she had always made this subject to the proviso that the safety of the German soldiers had to be guaranteed.
Germany is also taking part in a United Nations process to revise the mandate of the UN Security Council. The federal government has asked the UN to urge the transitional government in Mali not to impede the operations of the Minusma operation. Baerbock also tried to ensure that other countries made contributions to protect the UN troops after France’s withdrawal.
The security situation in Mali had been deteriorating for some time. In the summer of 2021, twelve German soldiers and one Belgian soldier were injured, some critically, in a bomb attack on a patrol. In July 2017, when a tiger– attack helicopter due to technical problems, two German soldiers died.