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Bundeswehr forces in Mali (photo from 2018)
Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa
Is the Bundeswehr mission in Mali threatened with a fate similar to that in Afghanistan?
In the Hindu Kush, Germany and its Western allies experienced a disaster after 20 years of service.
German soldiers have been deployed in Mali for eight years - and since Tuesday at the latest, this has been causing hectic activity in the Ministry of Defense.
At all levels, the top officials spoke primarily to their colleagues in Paris.
Since France takes on a kind of leadership role in the mission in Mali, they wanted to know how serious Paris is about threats to pull the ripcord - that is, to bring its own troops home.
That would call the German mission in the country into question.
The Bundeswehr is involved in the multinational military intervention with up to 1,700 soldiers.
The use is considered extremely dangerous.
It would be all the more serious if it were to be confirmed that the military junta in the country is negotiating with the notorious Russian semi-state mercenary group "Wagner".
The unit is notorious for its brutality and extrajudicial missions in Syria or Libya.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer threatened consequences via Twitter in the event that Mali worked with the mercenaries.
Such cooperation would call into question the basis of the Bundeswehr's mandate, wrote the Defense Minister.
The background to this are reports about the interim government of Army Colonel Assimi Goita.
He slipped into the presidential post in May and is said to have asked the Wagner group about training Malian soldiers.
Up to 1,000 paramilitaries should be deployed for this purpose.
France and Germany - who also train soldiers in the country - see this as a deliberate provocation.
"The putschists want to show us that they are not dependent on us and on other partners if we impose too many conditions," says an experienced officer in the defense department.
A possible training of the "Wagner" group for the Malian soldiers would therefore look very different from the mission of the Europeans, for example.
During training there, great importance is attached to the fact that one does not train pure fighters, but also teaches the recruits about international law and human rights.
The development in the crisis state does not come as a complete surprise.
The nations involved in Mali have been distrusting the so-called interim government Goïta for months.
Ironically, the colonel was once trained for the Malian special forces in Germany, among other places.
Goïta promises that there will be free elections soon.
Nevertheless, the commitment seems more like a symbolic gesture to the international community so as not to jeopardize the massive financial aid for the state and the support of the Malian army.
Berlin and Paris are now relying on political pressure.
With the threat of military withdrawal, they want to make it clear to the junta in Bamako how much is at stake for the country if it moves closer to the Russians.
So far, these maneuvers have mostly worked in Mali.
The FDP demanded quick decisions from the federal government.
"In view of the increasingly dangerous situation, the entire mission must be critically evaluated, a reassessment of the objectives is long overdue," said foreign policy officer Bijan Djir-Sarai.
The MP recalled the chaos during the Afghanistan withdrawal and warned that such a debacle should not be repeated in the case of Mali.
In the afternoon, the federal government wants to inform the defense committee chairmen about the situation in Mali.