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Now Germany also wants to withdraw its troops from Mali. That doesn’t make the situation there any easier.
A UN stabilization mission has been running in Mali since 2013. It’s called Minusma and is considered one of the most dangerous missions of all. With around 13,000 blue helmets and almost 2,000 police officers, the situation in the country should be stabilized. This was to be achieved by pushing back the militant Islamic groups.
But now Germany wants to have withdrawn its last troops as part of the UN mission from West African Mali by 2024 at the latest. France has already withdrawn its army and Great Britain has announced its withdrawal, and Egypt also wants to suspend this mission.
The question arises as to how things should continue in Mali, says freelance journalist Naveena Kottor, who lives in Kenya. “Germany, for example, operated the military hospital. Injured UN soldiers were cared for there.” 300 people have died there in the last nine years.
Dangerous UN mission
The fact that Germany is now also withdrawing its troops is worrying for the UN, as Kottor says: “The UN fears a domino effect. Either the other countries are also withdrawing their troops or they are no longer willing to send additional troops.” However, the journalist says the country hasn’t really gained any stability as a result of the mission. There have been several military coups and the country currently has a military government in Bamako. This is currently not stable and strong enough to oppose the Islamist and other groups, says the journalist.
It is unclear how the UN Security Council will decide in relation to Mali. He could either extend the mission beyond 2023 or give it a new focus. But the balance of the Minusma mission is sobering, says the journalist. Nobody knows what would have happened if the mission hadn’t happened. “But human rights organizations point out that there has never been a year since the Minusma in which so many civilians have been killed as this year,” said Kottor.
Russia is expanding influence
Russia is also present in Mali. According to the journalist, Russia is trying to expand its influence wherever the West is no longer present. The relationship between Mali’s military government and Western governments is rather tense, and Russia has deliberately exploited this in recent years, says the journalist, especially since there has been a military government in Bamako. “The country has been repeatedly urged to hold elections and install a civilian government. That hasn’t happened so far.”
Mali has military equipment from Russia, and Russia also has a thousand Wagner Group mercenaries in Mali. Russia is presenting itself as an easy partner that does not blame Mali for carrying out democratic processes. “That’s another reason why the withdrawal of Western troops has been the subject of much discussion; they didn’t want to strengthen Russian foreign policy.”
The journalist rules out a purely military solution for Mali. “There must be talks with the Islamist groups and the government so that a negotiated compromise can be reached,” says Naeeva Kotter.