Defense Commissioner of the Bundestag: Högl calls for a review of the Mali operation

The notorious Russian mercenary troop Wagner is apparently to be tasked with training the Malian army. The Armed Forces Commissioner Högl therefore demands that we talk “about the meaning and purpose” of the Federal Armed Forces deployment in the West African country.

In view of the latest developments in Mali, the Bundestag’s defense commissioner, Eva Högl, has called for a critical review of the Federal Armed Forces deployment in the West African crisis state. “After the experience with the withdrawal from Afghanistan we have to talk again about the purpose of the Mali mission,” said Högl to the newspapers of the “Funke Mediengruppe”. “We have to answer the question of whether the goal of ensuring stability in the country, among other things, is still realistic.”

According to information from French circles, the military junta ruling in Mali is aiming for cooperation with the Russian mercenary troop Wagner, which could be tasked with training the Malian armed forces. France then threatened to withdraw its soldiers.

The SPD politician Högl said that if Russian mercenaries were to be deployed in Mali, “we have to talk to our international partners and the Defense Committee about possible consequences.” The Mali mission is difficult, she has always pointed out.

Kramp-Karrenbauer questions the mission in Mali

The Wagner group is notorious for its missions, including in Syria and the Central African Republic. The French government accuses it of robbery and other illegal activities.

Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had previously stated that should this cooperation be confirmed, it would call into question the basis of the mandate of the Bundeswehr. Consequences would have to be drawn together with the Bundestag.

Up to 1700 Bundeswehr soldiers in Mali

The Bundeswehr is involved in two international missions in Mali with up to 1,700 soldiers to stabilize the Sahel state threatened by Islamist rebels. According to information from the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland” (RND), Kramp-Karrenbauer wants to inform members of the Defense Committee about the current situation.

The foreign policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, spoke to the RND of a “failure of the federal government in security policy”. “After the Afghanistan disaster, the defense minister is now single-handedly questioning the Bundeswehr’s mission in Mali.” It was “an affront to the Bundestag” that the minister only wanted to inform the parliament about the background of her statements afterwards.