Why Did Germany Announce its Withdrawal from Mali?

Germany will withdraw its troops from the United Nations peacekeeping force in Mali by the end of next year, citing the deteriorating security and political situation in the West African nation.

The decision, announced last week by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government, ends Germany’s involvement in the mission that it has supported since 2013 with about 1,100 soldiers.

Germany’s move comes amid rising tensions between Mali’s military junta, which seized power in a coup last year, and its international partners. The junta has resisted pressure to hold democratic elections and has sought closer ties with Russia.

Mali has been plagued by violence and instability since 2012 when separatist and Islamist rebels launched an insurgency in the north. The U.N. peacekeeping force, known as MINUSMA, was deployed in 2013 to help stabilize the country and support a peace agreement.

The German government said it would gradually reduce its troops in Mali over the next 12 months, taking into account the planned elections in February. It added that it would continue to support Mali’s development and security through other means.

 

Unknown Future

The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said in a statement that the security situation in the Sahel was “a matter of common concern” for Europe and Africa.

She said Berlin would continue to provide troops and assistance to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, as well as to regional initiatives in Niger, Mauritania, and the Gulf of Guinea.

Six countries, including Sweden and the Netherlands, have announced plans to withdraw or reduce their troops from the mission in the coming months.

The U.N. mission has been struggling to contain the spread of violence by groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which have exploited ethnic tensions and weak governance to expand their influence in central Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), more than 10,000 civilians and soldiers have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by the conflict.

The situation has been further complicated by another coup in Mali last year, which toppled the transitional government that had replaced the previous one.

The new military junta has cut ties with France and its European allies, who have been providing training and support to Malian forces in the fight against terrorism. Instead, it has turned to Russia for military and political cooperation.

The junta has welcomed hundreds of operatives who claim to be Russian military instructors, but whom Western officials accuse of being mercenaries from a private security company called Wagner Group.

The company, which is reportedly linked to a close ally of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, has been involved in conflicts in Syria, Libya, and other countries.

Germany is the largest Western contributor to MINUSMA, with about 1,000 troops.

 

Security for All

As Germany prepares to pull out its troops from Mali, where a coup has undermined its efforts to combat Islamist militants, it is looking to neighboring Niger as a more stable and cooperative partner in the fight against terrorism in Africa’s Sahel region.

The German Defense Ministry announced last month that it would withdraw about 1,100 soldiers from Mali by the end of June, following a second military takeover in less than a year that led to the suspension of the country from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.

But Germany, which has been involved in security and development projects in the Sahel since 2013, is not abandoning its commitment to the region, which is one of the poorest and most vulnerable in the world.

Instead, it is shifting its focus to Niger, where it plans to increase its military and civilian presence and support a new European Union mission to train and advise local forces.

Unlike Mali, where the authorities have faced accusations of corruption and human rights abuses, Niger has shown more willingness to work with Germany and other international partners, according to German officials.

The German defense minister and the development minister visited Niger in April and praised its efforts to restore security and stability.

The Sahel, which stretches across Africa from Senegal to Sudan, is home to a young and fast-growing population, with two-thirds of its people under 25 years old, according to United Nations data. But it also suffers from chronic poverty, climate change, political instability, and violence.

German officials say that extremist groups, such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, have exploited these conditions to recruit young people who lack jobs and economic opportunities. They say that addressing the root causes of radicalization is essential for preventing further violence and instability.

The German Development Ministry said in a statement that it would invest more than $1 billion over the next four years to “improve economic prospects in the Sahel,” including creating jobs in agriculture, processing, carpentry, and infrastructure sectors.

It also said it would help provide access to water, education, and health services for millions of people.

Germany is not alone in its efforts to support Niger and other countries in the Sahel. Several nations have pledged to increase their cooperation and assistance to the region, especially after France announced earlier this year that it would reduce its military presence there.

France has about 5,000 troops in the Sahel as part of Operation Barkhane, a counterterrorism mission that began in 2014.

But President Emmanuel Macron said in June that he would end the operation by early next year and reorganize France’s involvement in a more multilateral framework.

 

MINUSMA Mission

As Germany prepares to end its military mission in Mali next year, it faces the challenge of leaving behind a stable and secure country amid rising tensions with the local authorities and a persistent threat from Islamist militants.

Germany has been a key ally of France in supporting the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Mali, known as MINUSMA, which was established in 2013 to help restore order after a coup and a rebellion by Tuareg separatists and jihadists.

But the relationship between Mali’s ruling junta, which seized power in a second coup last year, and its foreign partners has soured in recent months.

The junta has accused MINUSMA of failing to protect civilians and has sought closer ties with Russia, a rival of the West in Africa.

In September, France announced it was withdrawing 2,000 of its 5,000 troops from Mali and other Sahel countries, citing the political instability and the lack of cooperation from the Malian authorities.

Colonel Heiko Bohnsack, the German commander in Mali, told the Der Tagesspiegel newspaper that his forces had begun shipping home about 1,300 containers of equipment, but would continue to carry out their duties until the end of their mandate in May 2022.

He said the withdrawal process would involve gradually reducing the amount of material used, while maintaining operational capabilities.

MINUSMA is the deadliest U.N. mission in the world, with 183 peacekeepers killed in hostile acts since 2013.

The mission has struggled to contain the violence that has spread from northern to central Mali and across the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger.

More than 10,000 people have been killed and two million displaced by the conflict, according to human rights groups.

Germany has said it will not abandon Mali after its military departure, but will instead increase its economic and development aid to the country and the wider Sahel region.