Berlin Doubts about the Bundeswehr’s last major foreign mission in Mali are growing: the Malian military government is apparently no longer interested in the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma. She torpedoes them again and again.
The voices for rethinking the mission are therefore getting louder. The deputy head of the Greens parliamentary group, Agnieszka Brugger, is also critical of this: “The Malian military junta is playing with fire with its constant provocations and should think very carefully about how devastating an end to this important United Nations peace mission would be for them anyway The situation in the country would be extremely unstable.” It is not enough for the Malian government to use words to soothe incidents. Instead, she must finally end the confrontational course.
The chairwoman of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), warned of the danger for German soldiers: “The fact that Malian putschists are currently harassing us and want to dictate what we can and cannot do is not acceptable and must be , to ensure the safety of our soldiers, are clarified by the representatives of the United Nations, but also by the foreign and defense ministries.”
However, the FDP defense politician Alexander Müller doubts that the situation will change anytime soon: “After the Malian putschist government has already complimented the French out of the country, the number of pinpricks against us is increasing significantly.” It would be naïve to believe that these are coincidences or misunderstandings.
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In February, France decided to end the anti-terrorist operation in Mali, which it had been carrying out together with other nations. The deduction should be completed by the end of the summer.
The German government is therefore wondering whether France’s loss of military capabilities can be compensated for. This role would fall to the Minusma stabilization mission, which involves a total of around 13,000 blue helmets.
The military government under General Assimi Goita, who seized power in 2020 and deposed the president a year later, put the last needle prick for the time being when she temporarily refused overflight rights this week. This threatened the rescue chain for deployed German soldiers.
The next regular staff rotation is scheduled for September.
(Photo: IMAGO/photothek)
There had always been problems before, for example because the Malian government prevented staff changes in the international units deployed, blocked access to part of the airport in the Malian capital Bamako or had security personnel arrested. Western observers are also concerned about the increasing influence of Russian mercenaries from the so-called Wagner group.
The mandate was only extended in May
According to the Bundeswehr Operations Command, around 1,000 German soldiers are currently involved in Minusma. In May, the Bundestag extended the mandate for the mission until the end of May next year and increased the personnel limit from 1,100 to 1,400 Bundeswehr personnel.
In the meantime, doubts about the deployment are also growing in the Union, which supported the extension of the mandate: “For us, the safety of our soldiers is the priority,” emphasizes the Union Chairwoman on the Defense Committee, Kerstin Vieregge (CDU). “If that cannot be guaranteed, it must mean immediate deduction.”
The Federal Defense Minister called on the Malian government to take a clear position on the deployment of the Bundeswehr.
(Photo: dpa)
However, Vieregge warned not to rush into anything. Therefore, the report from UN Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who heads the Department for Peace Operations, should first be awaited. Lacroix had just informed himself about the local situation on a trip to Mali. At the same time, “a plan B for an orderly withdrawal is needed if it should be necessary,” emphasizes Vieregge.
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Even if the German military leadership does not comment publicly, it makes no secret of its position internally and towards the federal government: Germany must get out of Mali as quickly as possible.
In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the Bundeswehr would prefer to concentrate more on national and alliance defense. The training of the soldiers who are due to rotate to Mali in September eats up time and resources that the German armed forces do not have.
Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) therefore made a clear statement: Before the planned troop rotation, the Malian government must declare whether it wants to continue working with the UN in the fight against terrorism and whether the Bundeswehr is still welcome.
For the Bundeswehr, there is the additional problem that the German contingent cannot adequately protect itself. According to the mandate passed by the Bundestag, the United Nations has “the task of ensuring the seamless provision of close air support by other troop providers”. The main focus is on support from attack helicopters.
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The Bundeswehr had withdrawn its own “Tiger” helicopters from Mali in mid-2018 and then relied on protection from French helicopters. As the Operations Command announced on request, Minusma is currently still being supported by French forces if necessary. Later, according to Handelsblatt information, first El Salvador and then Bangladesh will take over the close air support.
Germany is faced with a difficult dilemma when it comes to whether it should continue to participate in Minusma, says Green MP Brugger. “Because states like Russia and China are also systematically expanding their geopolitical influence in the Sahel and are certainly not focusing on the concerns of the civilian population and political reforms, while the United Nations are being deliberately weakened further and further.” Both with the withdrawal and with the The continuation of the mission is therefore associated with risks.
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