United Nations - Bundeswehr mission in Mali has ended
The Bundeswehr has ended its UN mission in the West African country of Mali after more than a decade. The last German soldiers from the Minusma peacekeeping mission left their camp at Camp Castor on the outskirts of Gao airport, security sources told the German Press Agency in Berlin. They were on their way to a stopover on the Atlantic coast and were not due to land at Wunstorf airbase in Lower Saxony until later in the week.
This marks the end of the Bundeswehr's second major deployment outside Europe in Mali after Afghanistan. The mission in West Africa was recently considered the most dangerous deployment. In 2017, two German pilots died when their Tiger combat helicopter crashed in Mali. In addition, a total of 12 German soldiers were wounded in a suicide attack in 2021. According to the Bundeswehr, a total of around 20,000 German blue helmets have been deployed to the UN mission over the years.
The field camp was handed over to Mali before departure. It has been the center of the German contribution to the UN troops in recent years. At the beginning of the week, there were still only a few German soldiers in the previous Minusma headquarters in the capital Bamako. The UN peacekeeping mission had already held a formal closing ceremony there yesterday. According to the UN, blue helmets from 53 countries were involved in the mission.
Mali's foreign minister: blue helmets "part of the problem"
In mid-June, Mali's military government demanded the withdrawal of all 12,000 UN peacekeepers and had previously increased cooperation with Russia. Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop accused the blue helmets of having become "part of the problem" instead of having responded adequately to the security situation. A UN report published in May stated that hundreds of civilians had been killed in Mali the previous year during an operation by Malian soldiers and alleged Russian mercenaries.
The UN Security Council then initiated an end to Minusma. Germany had already decided to end its participation in the mission. At the beginning of the week, around 160 of the original 1000 soldiers were still in Mali, according to the Bundeswehr. A further 120 men and women were at the Niamey air base in neighboring Niger.
The German withdrawal took months and was made more difficult after there was a military coup in Niger, which borders Mali, and the previously good relations became more complicated.
On the Nigerien side of the border with Mali, a transport convoy with German military goods from Gao is currently stuck in customs clearance. Military equipment has been left behind in the field camp in Gao, which is yet to be brought back home on a second transport by a civilian company.
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- The Bundeswehr's withdrawal from Mali marks their exit from their second major deployment outside Europe, following their mission in Afghanistan.
- The German soldiers, after leaving their camp at Camp Castor, were headed towards a stopover on the Atlantic coast before reaching Wunstorf airbase in Lower Saxony.
- The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as Minusma, involved blue helmets from 53 countries, with around 20,000 German blue helmets being deployed over the years.
- Mali's foreign minister, Abdoulaye Diop, accused the blue helmets of becoming "part of the problem" instead of adequately responding to the security situation.
- The United Nations Security Council initiated an end to Minusma after a UN report stated that hundreds of civilians had been killed during an operation by Malian soldiers and alleged Russian mercenaries.
- Germany had already decided to end its participation in the Minusma mission, with around 160 Germans still in Mali and 120 in Niger at the beginning of the week.
- The German military goods stuck in customs clearance on the Nigerien side of the border with Mali include military equipment left behind in the field camp in Gao.
- Conflicts in West Africa have led to increasing cooperation with Russia by Mali's military government, which demanded the withdrawal of all 12,000 UN peacekeepers.
- The federal armed forces have faced challenges in their mission in Mali, including a military coup in Niger, which complicated relations and delayed the German withdrawal.
Source: www.stern.de
