The EU’s military training mission in Mali’s crisis state in West Africa is being scaled back. In the future, Malian soldiers will be trained only in legal matters.
The European Union is drastically reducing its military training mission in Mali’s crisis state in West Africa. “We are ending training missions for the army and the national guard,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday after a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Borrell said there were “insufficient assurances” that the Russian mercenary group Wagner would not intervene in the conflict.
According to Borrell, funds recently approved for the Malian government and the military have been frozen. In December, EU states launched aid to Mali worth €24 million over 30 months. But the EU wants to continue to engage in Mali’s neighboring countries in the Sahel, says Borrell.
Legal Education
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. In the future, Malian soldiers will be trained only in legal matters, but no more military training.
Human rights groups suspect Wagner mercenaries of having carried out a massacre of civilians in the village of Moura along with Malian soldiers two weeks ago. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch reports about 300 civilians who were killed.
playful trust
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is expected in Mali on Tuesday night. Just before her departure, she questioned the participation of German soldiers in the EU training mission in the country. The Bamako government “has lost a lot of international trust in recent months, mainly by delaying the democratic transition and intensifying military cooperation with Moscow”, criticized the green politician. “Just saying ‘continue’ would be wrong in my opinion.”
More recently, around 300 German soldiers trained members of the Malian army to fight militias and terrorist groups as part of the mission. The German Bundeswehr is also supporting the UN MINUSMA peacekeeping mission in Mali with around 1,000 Bundeswehr troops, which aims to stabilize the country and protect the civilian population. Germany wants to know what future this mission has, Borrell said.
No steps to democracy
The German chancellery spokesperson highlighted the current difficulties in relation to Mali. Therefore, “currently there is no progress on the road to democracy.” In addition, the question arises of “what additional difficulties arise from increased cooperation with Russian mercenaries.”
The German Bundestag must decide by the end of May whether to issue mandates to extend missions in Mali. According to the Chancellery’s spokesman, the end of the EUTM mission does not necessarily mean the end of German participation in MINUSMA. Both missions would have to be “considered individually”.
In February, former colonial power France decided to end its nine-year military operation in Mali. This was preceded by serious tensions with Mali’s military government. The German Defense Ministry declined to comment on Monday whether the Bundeswehr was already making arrangements for a withdrawal.
(APA/red)