Avellon Williams
GERMANY- As a result of the scheduled end of a UN peacekeeping mission in Mali on June 30, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the country would like to pull its soldiers out of Mali as quickly as possible, but still in an orderly manner.
“For us, this means that we will try to get out even faster, to get out of Mali but in an orderly way,” he told broadcaster ZDF on Wednesday.
By May 2024, Germany, which has deployed around 1,000 soldiers to Mali, intends to withdraw them.
Most of the troops were stationed near Gao, a northern town where they are responsible for gathering reconnaissance for MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping mission.
The Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, or MINUSMA, was established in 2013 to support foreign and local troops fighting armed groups. Over the past few months, however, the mission has experienced repeated friction with the Malian military government.
There are approximately 12,000 military personnel deployed in the country as part of the mission. Among the top three contributors are Chad, Bangladesh, and Egypt.
In the wake of the military coup in 2020 and the government’s invitation to Wagner Group fighters to support its war against rebels, relations between Europe and Mali have deteriorated.
After almost a decade in Mali, France decided to withdraw its troops in 2022.
RELATED:
