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The EU sends a team to Mali to assess the continuity of its military mission

2022-02-11T19:41:20.601Z


Fifteen European defense ministers discuss the situation in the African country in the face of the withdrawal of French troops


The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, will send a team to Bamako to analyse, together with the Malian authorities, the situation on the ground and whether the conditions are right for the EUTM-Mali European mission to continue in the African country.

This has been the main conclusion of the videoconference held this Friday by 15 EU Defense Ministers convened by the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, who holds the rotating Presidency of the Union.

France has decided to withdraw its troops from Mali, after the local authorities expelled the French ambassador in Bamako, Joël Meyer, on January 31, in response to statements by the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who He described the military junta that governs the country as illegitimate and called its decisions "irresponsible."

But Paris does not want to go alone, for fear that the image of the withdrawal of French troops will harm President Emmanuel Macron just two months before the first round of the Elysée elections and seeks the support of its European partners.

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Mali, the African scene of the new cold war

Four international missions coexist in Mali: the two French combat operations, Barkhane and Takuba, whose evacuation from Mali is considered imminent, although they may continue to operate from neighboring countries;

the UN mission (Minusma), with more than 18,000 troops, as voluminous as it is not very operational;

and the EUTM-Mali European mission, dedicated to training the Malian Army.

The latter has 1,100 soldiers from 25 countries, although more than half are Spanish.

In this Friday's videoconference, the Spanish minister, Margarita Robles, highlighted the importance and achievements of the EUTM mission and advocated "persevering with our important objectives of advancing democratic governance in Mali, strengthening its structures and capacities as an essential element to improve security in the country and the fight against terrorism throughout the region”, as reported by his department.

The mandate of the European mission does not end until 2024, but the French withdrawal has called into question its continuity, fearing a rapid deterioration in security throughout the country.

Added to this is the European rejection of the arrival of more than 1,000 Russian soldiers in Mali in support of the Bamako coup government, many of them mercenaries from the Wagner company, close to the Kremlin.

At the origin of the conflict with France is the intention of the current military junta to perpetuate itself in power, postponing the presidential elections for five years and failing to fulfill its commitment to hold them in February.

Last May, the military, led by Colonel Assimi Goïta, staged the second coup in nine months, interrupting the transition that began after President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was overthrown in August 2020.

Last January, the Economic Commission of West African States (Cedeao), which brings together Mali's neighboring countries, adopted tough sanctions against the Bamako military regime, which include the withdrawal of ambassadors, the closure of borders and the suspension of commercial exchanges, except basic products.

The EU has supported the sanctions of the African organization, but maintains its mission of training the Army that illegally occupies power.

Military sources admit that, in the best of cases, it will be necessary to carry out a "deep review" of the European mission, which was in the expansion phase, with the sending of mobile patrols to different parts of the country, the construction of new bases and its extension to the other G-5 Sahel countries (Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania).

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-02-11

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