UN mission with German participation: no normality in sight in Mali

The UN mission in Mali, West Africa, is the largest German mission abroad – and the most dangerous. And the security situation in the country is worsening. What’s next in Mali – one year after the most recent coup?

From Sebastian Felser, ARD studio Rabat

The military carried out a coup in Mali a year ago. It was the second coup in nine months – and it was similar to the previous one: some military officers bring government representatives to a base. A few hours later, the military deposed the politicians.

The excitement in the country and also internationally, for example at the West African Economic Union ECOWAS, was great. But basically the situation calmed down quickly. And it has remained unchanged since then.

No different situation for humans than before

Fodie Tandjigora sees it that way too. He is a political scientist at the university in the Malian capital Bamako: “Hardly anything has changed. Most of the people here in Mali are concerned with exactly the things they were concerned with before the coup: They have to make a living somehow, deal with the difficult security situation and then of course there is also Corona. “

The country is paralyzed. After the coup, a transition council was formed after a lengthy search phase. But his work has been characterized above all by tough discussions and staff squabbles. The armed forces’ chatters and conflicts over influence – these were presumably the central problems that triggered the coup a year ago.

Despite the omnipotence of the military and the massive presence of foreign troops in Mali with the UN stabilization mission MINUSMA and the EU training mission EUTM, the security situation continues to deteriorate.

Numerous civilians killed in attacks

Around two weeks ago, more than 50 civilians died in attacks on several villages in the Gao region, where the Bundeswehr is also holding a camp. However, anyone who believed that a coup in Mali’s capital would have an impact on the deployment of the Bundeswehr was mistaken. Apparently, it hardly matters whether civilians or the military are in government in the capital, 1,000 kilometers away.

The Bundeswehr is still open at the end of May ARD-Question given the following assessment: “The Bundeswehr is carefully monitoring the current developments in Mali. At the moment, the events in Mali have no influence on the threat situation and the fulfillment of the order of the German contingents EUTM Mali and MINUSMA.”

Thomas Schiller, head of the CDU-affiliated Konrad-Adenauer Foundation in the Sahel, based in the Malian capital Bamako, assesses the situation in a similar way – two coups in around nine months would still not have changed the basic situation significantly: “It was even before the 2020 coup In fact, there were many observers who were extremely critical of the non-existent results of the European training mission, for example. And that after years of training by the EUTM, after years of international community presence, “said Schiller. “That means something like: The problems existed before the coup.”

The main problems lie with the governance

These are problems with the training – for example through a rotation principle. That makes sense for combat missions, but it is out of place in the area of ​​training, which is about getting to know the trainees exactly. But these are mainly problems in the leadership of the Malian state, said Schiller. “You have a state that is completely dysfunctional. And one that also has the problem that the Malian elites, be they military or civilians, have not assumed any responsibility in recent years.”

Someone who has integrity and can take responsibility – Safiatou Dikite misses him too. She is involved in various civil society organizations and still sees a long way to go for Mali: “I would say that the transition had not even begun before the previous government was ousted. I don’t see any names that will come to mind for the future – you have to be patient. “

Political scientist Tandjigora sees it in a similar way: “The way things are going with the whole transition, we see above all that the state is being further undermined here. From my point of view, the future still looks bleak because we don’t know when the light will end of the tunnel. “

The incumbent Prime Minister is sticking to the plan to hold elections at the end of February 2022 in order to return to normal government and parliamentary operations. The transition should then be completed. The next few months will have to show whether this goal can still be achieved.