The ruling junta in Mali on Monday January 24 asked Denmark to withdraw “at once» the hundred soldiers who recently arrived in the country in crisis to participate in the European grouping of special forces Takuba initiated by France. Mali’s military-dominated government, which came to power in a coup in August 2020, said in a statement read on national television and posted on social media that “this deployment took place without his consent“.
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Denmark announced last week the arrival in Mali of 90 men, mostly elite soldiers and military surgeons, supposed to participate within Takuba in the protection of civilians against jihadists in the so-called three-border zone (Mali , Burkina Faso, Niger) and be based in Ménaka (eastern Mali).
A grouping of European special forces intended to accompany Malian soldiers in combat against the jihadists, the Takuba task force was launched in March 2020 at the initiative of France to share the burden with European partners. Exceptional in the context of the security and political crisis that has shaken Mali for years, the request for the withdrawal of this Danish contingent comes in the midst of a showdown between the junta and part of the international community which intends to see it keep its commitment to return power to civilians in the near future. Relations with France in particular have deteriorated severely.