Germany has been present since 2013 within the Minusma in Mali. An operation which, for months, has aroused moods in Berlin. This commitment is not popular. The withdrawal of other countries from Mali – starting with France – has reinforced the debates in Germany. Yesterday, Tuesday, November 22, a meeting decided: The Bundeswehr will withdraw, but not urgently. This operation will begin in summer 2023 and end in spring 2024.
With our correspondent in Germany, Pascal Thibault
Germany has been hesitating over the way forward in Mali for weeks. Last Wednesday, an agency announced the withdrawal from this country, information later denied. Yesterday, Tuesday November 22, Olaf Scholz brought together the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs who oppose each other on this issue.
Painstaking negotiations
With 1,100 soldiers, Berlin now has the largest contingent within the Minusma but sees other nations withdrawing. The Bundeswehr complains of the laborious negotiations with Bamako on troop transport and fears for the safety of its soldiers in the event of a hard blow. The Minister of Defense therefore wants the Bundeswehr to leave as quickly as possible.
The diplomats, around Annalena Baerbock, insist on Germany’s good reputation on the spot, on the need to protect civilians and on the damage to Berlin’s image in the event of a premature withdrawal.
Withdrawal from summer 2023 to spring 2024
The compromise reached proves the Minister of Foreign Affairs right. it provides for a withdrawal which will last from the summer of 2023 to the spring of 2024, until the possible holding of a presidential election in Mali. The Bundestag will have to extend the mandate of the Bundeswehr for the last time next May.
►Also read : Germany suspends “until further notice” most of its operations in Mali (August 12, 2022)