For now, the European Union is ending its military training mission in the West African state of Mali. The announcement was made by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday following a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. The Austrian Armed Forces are involved in the EU EUTM training mission and the UN MINUSMA mission with a total of around 90 soldiers. EUTM was last led by Austrian Brigadier Christian Riener.
Borrell said there were “insufficient assurances” that the Russian mercenary group Wagner would not intervene in the conflict. The EU wants to be
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is expected in the country on Tuesday night. The trip takes place in the context of upcoming decisions on Bundeswehr operations in West Africa. In Mali’s capital Bamako, the green politician is expected to hold talks with interim President Assimi Goïta and Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, according to a spokesperson for the Federal Foreign Ministry in Berlin.
Baerbock also wants to meet with representatives of the EU EUTM training mission and the UN Minusma stabilization mission. The minister wants to return to Berlin on Friday.
Scam in May 2021
Around 300 Bundeswehr soldiers are currently involved in EUTM and around 1,100 in MINUSMA, both terms expire at the end of May. The German federal government and the Bundestag must then decide whether and to what extent they will be extended. Bundeswehr deployments in Mali are also controversial because of cooperation between Mali’s transitional military government and Russian mercenaries. The spokesman said Baerbock wanted to get an accurate picture of the political and security situation. Following the end of the Bundeswehr mission in Afghanistan last year, the Mali engagement is now considered the most dangerous foreign mission for German soldiers.
Mali and Niger are former French colonies and are among the poorest countries in the world. In May 2021, the military toppled the then transitional government in Mali, which has a population of around 20 million. The coup leader Goïta himself proclaimed himself the new interim president. He has postponed democratic elections scheduled for February 27, 2022 for up to five years. In the country, more than a million people are at risk of starvation due to drought.