Europeans want to continue the fight against terrorism in Mali

What will happen in Mali after the military coup? The Bundeswehr and its European partners have so far stood side by side with Malian soldiers against terrorism. Are there consequences to be drawn? In the crisis state itself, the new masters receive support.

Bamako / Dillingen (dpa) - Regardless of the military coup in Mali, Germany, France and Great Britain are sticking to their work against terrorism in the West African country.

"The commitment is still necessary because terrorism is still a major threat to us here," said Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) on Friday after talks with her counterparts Florence Parly and Ben Wallace in Dillingen. The three defense ministers called on the putschists to implement as quickly as possible what they had promised, "namely a return to constitutional order," said Kramp-Karrenbauer.

Insurgent military forces forced President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to resign last Tuesday and announced the formation of a transitional committee that would rule until elections were held. Kaou Djim, a leader of the opposition movement M5-RFP, promised him support on Thursday. A solidarity rally for the committee was also planned on Friday evening in the capital Bamako. On the same day, a high-ranking UN representative visited the Keïta detained in the garrison town of Kati. Initially, nothing was announced about the content of the talks.

In Dillingen, the British Defense Minister Wallace called for the return to a civilian government in Mali. "Stability needs to be restored in this part of the world," he said. "We will continue the fight against terrorism because it is far from over," said the French Defense Minister Parly and emphasized: "This is a security challenge for the Sahel region, but also for all of Europe." The Malian armed forces continued their operations despite the coup.

The unstable crisis state has been plagued by terrorist groups for years, some of which have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and the terror network Al-Qaeda. France supports the fight against these organizations with the military combat mission "Barkhane", for which around 5100 soldiers are deployed in the Sahel region. In addition, a UN mission is supporting the peace process in Mali after the north of the country temporarily fell into the hands of rebel groups in 2012, before France intervened militarily. There is also an EU training mission in Mali. The Bundeswehr is involved in both international missions.

A spokesman for the putschists had promised that all agreements with national and international partners would be respected. The UN mission Minusma, the French combat mission "Barkhane" and the G5 Sahel group remained "our partners for stability and the restoration of security". The G5 Sahel is an alliance of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad to fight terrorism in the region.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200821-99-255150 / 3