Mali mission suspended: Better leave before it’s too late

It is right to suspend the Mali mission now – before it’s too late. The security situation is deteriorating and the harassment by the military government has become unbearable.

It was good that the Bundeswehr has been in Mali so far, as part of the UN mission MINUSMA. The three most important reasons for this: Firstly, the mission helped to contain terrorism, secondly, to combat the causes of flight, and thirdly, to enable civilian projects.

But it is also true that the Bundeswehr is now pressing the pause button in Mali. With this, the German government is showing that the Bundeswehr doesn’t allow everything to be done when it sends people and material abroad. And she puts a security bar on an operation when she sees security gaps.

Probably the beginning of the complete end

This decision is probably the beginning of the complete end of the Bundeswehr mission there. That would be unfortunate, but also the right decision. Harassment and humiliation by the Malian military government have recently become unbearable. Bundeswehr forces were temporarily not allowed to leave or enter the country. Overflight rights were sometimes granted, sometimes denied.

And then there are suspicions that the Malian government is cooperating with Russian forces, possibly mercenaries, suspected of involvement in massacres that have killed scores of civilians. That would be another reason to end German participation.

Efforts for dialogue failed

The German defense minister failed in her attempts to persuade the Malian leadership to engage in dialogue. When she visited the troops in April, her counterpart in the capital, Bamako, did not have time to talk. So the lack of government cooperation there is a well-known problem. A military operation cannot be maintained in a meaningful way in this way.

Securing the fragile civil war peace in Mali has become impossible due to developments in recent months. The planned withdrawal of French troops now this summer also leaves security gaps at Gao Airport, where international troops are stationed. There are even indications that Russian air security could be set up instead of the previous French one – that would be a risk that neither the Bundeswehr nor German allies should take.

Later would be too late

Recently, the Bundeswehr forces could not do much more in their camp than to secure each other – this is no longer a sensible posting. The strength for operations against the terror of Muslim extremists in the country is missing. And the security situation is steadily deteriorating. It is better for the Bundeswehr to initiate the withdrawal now, before it becomes humiliating and all too late, as it was in Afghanistan a year ago.

It is unfortunate that Mali could no longer stand a chance of being stabilized internationally. And civil projects, such as for clean water and more education, will probably fall by the wayside. But to continue a Bundeswehr deployment under these circumstances would be the wrong decision. In Mali it is better to leave now – later would be too late.