Mali: France and European partners announce troop withdrawal

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French soldiers in Mali

Photo: FLORENT VERGNES / AFP

France and its European partners are withdrawing their troops from Mali.

They said so on Thursday.

The deliberations on the planned withdrawal have begun, the French presidential office said.

But we want to continue to get involved in the region.

The withdrawal of European troops had previously been expected.

Tensions in particular had recently increased between France and the Mails government, which came to power after a coup.

Among other things, there was a dispute about the presence of Russian mercenaries in Mali.

On Monday, France had already announced the withdrawal of troops.

According to the government in Paris, the conditions for deploying French troops against Islamists in Mali no longer exist.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the operation against terrorism would then be continued in neighboring countries.

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht had recently set conditions for the continuation of the Bundeswehr mission in Mali.

In a conversation with her Malian counterpart Sadio Camara, she expressed "great concerns" about further German involvement in the country.

The Bundeswehr is involved in Mali with more than 1,300 men and women in the EU training mission EUTM and the UN mission Minusma.

The current mandate is valid until May 31, 2022.

More soon at spiegel.de

slu/Reuters