BERLIN, July 20. (DPA/EP) –
The German Defense Minister, Christine Lambrecht, asked the Malian military government on Tuesday to clarify the bases of the presence of the UN stabilization mission led by Germany in the country, after a series of incidents that threaten to strain the ties between Bamako and Berlin.
“Before the next rotation, it must be ensured that German soldiers can enter the country and also leave it,” Lambrecht said, adding that she had felt “very irritated by the events of the last few days, from the detention of soldiers Ivory Coast to the ambiguities surrounding the departure of some Bundeswehr soldiers and the questioning of the rotation of UN troops”.
The Malian government had previously demanded that the relationship between the German government and the 49 Ivorian soldiers detained in the Malian capital last week be clarified.
The leader of Mali’s military junta, Assimi Goita, declared Monday that he is “open to dialogue” to resolve the issue of the 49 Ivorian soldiers detained at Bamako airport earlier this month.
The Ivorian soldiers were arrested on July 10 for allegedly entering the country illegally, destabilizing the Malian government and “being mercenaries”.
However, according to the German Defense Ministry, the troops have been deployed in the country since 2019, with the knowledge and approval of the Malian authorities to guard a UN base at Bamako airport.
Ties between Berlin and Bamako have been strained since a military coup in Mali last year, although the situation has deteriorated further in recent months, with Mali’s military government declaring that it would not allow any personnel changes in international forces. in the country at the moment.
On Thursday, Malian authorities prevented eight members of the German Armed Forces from boarding a civilian flight, in an act Berlin called “harassment.”
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is a peacekeeping force created to reinforce security in Mali after the 2012 Tuareg rebellion, one of the first stages of the current armed conflict in the country.
The Bundeswehr participates in the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali. However, the European EUTM training mission has been largely discontinued. The plan is now to focus on operations in neighboring Niger, where German soldiers are already training local forces.
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