German Troops to Remain in Mali Until May 2024, Defense Ministry Says

Despite Western peacekeeping troops, including French soldiers who recently ended their separate anti-terrorist mission Barkhane, have been present in Mali for almost a decade, jihadist threat in the country hasn't been defeated. The failure of the European military presence is causing increasing discontent among Malians.

The presence of German troops in jihadist-hit Mali will continue until May 2024, the country's defense minister Christine Lambrecht said on Thursday.

As of now, Germany maintains about 1,100 soldiers in Mali as a part of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

In late November, Germany declared that it would withdraw its troops from the peacekeeping organization ahead of schedule in 2024. The decision was announced in light of elections in Mali, scheduled for February 2024.

Notably, in mid-August, Lambrecht suspended the deployment of German troops in Mali after the Malian government repeatedly denied them flyover rights, preventing the rotation of UN mission troops. However, the United Nations and Malian authorities reached an agreement a few days later.

Meanwhile, Germany isn't the only Western country terminating its presence in Mali in the framework of MINUSMA.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the Swedish contingent of MINUSMA would withdraw from Mali by June 30, 2023.

In November, the UK also declared it would carry out a withdrawal from the African country six month earlier than planned, blaming Bamako for not being willing to work with Germany "to deliver lasting stability and security."

In February, Canada also expressed its intention to leave Mali, but later said it would remain in the peacekeeping mission for now, while continuing to draw down its presence.

The decisions of the Western countries came amid ongoing protests demanding that MINUSMA leave, with some protestors reportedly accusing the peacekeeping mission of undermining Mali's sovereignty.

The Western nations, for their part, declared that the withdrawal was connected to the statements of Mali’s authorities that they intended to develop cooperation with Russia. In August, Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara said that the military cooperation with Russia in the fight against terrorism had brought significant results.

Earlier, the Malian Foreign Ministry stated that aircraft, brought by Russia, allowed Mali to change the strategy of their anti-terrorist fight. Camara also stated that despite the fact that Mali has maintained military cooperation with several countries in the fight against terrorism for nearly ten years, it was with Russia that was able to achieve tangible results in a matter of months. At the moment, Moscow provides the African country with technical support and specialists.

At the same time, experts say that MINUSMA, which has been operating in Mali for almost a decade, has't reached the goal of putting down the terrorist threat in the country, as well as in the Sahel region as a whole. Despite the continued presence of the Western counties in Mali, statistics have shown that terrorist attacks in the African country have become more frequent over the last ten years.

Last month, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo said that there's a risk of an Islamic insurgency spreading from Sahel to the entire West African region. According to him, terrorists, "emboldened by their success in the regions," are currently seeking new grounds.