Enlarge image
Defense Minister Lambrecht (SPD) visiting soldiers trained by the Bundeswehr in Niger
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa
The Bundeswehr missions in the Sahel region will be extended by one year.
In the morning, the Bundestag extended the mandates of the two missions in the region - the UN mission Minusma and the training mission EUTM - accordingly.
541 MPs voted for the new Minusma mandate, 103 voted against, 4 abstained.
The mandate for EUTM received 551 MP votes, 105 voted against, and there was one abstention.
"Freedom can only develop from security," said Merle Spellerberg (Greens) in the debate.
In talks with civil society in the West African country, it became clear that democratic elections and criticism of the military coup are not high on the agenda, but security is.
Minusma is a UN-led blue helmet operation to protect the civilian population in Mali.
The mission is intended to take action against Islamist fighters in the region and, above all, to protect areas in central Mali and the population living there from attacks.
The Bundeswehr will be sending more soldiers to do this in the future: Up to 1,400 instead of a maximum of 1,100 German soldiers can be stationed in Mali in the future.
Unlike Minusma, however, EUTM Mali, the mission to train Mali's army, will largely be discontinued.
The upper limit here will be lowered from 600 to 300 soldiers - as before, 230 of them are to be stationed in Mali's neighboring country Niger.
The background to the postponement is a significant deterioration in the situation in Mali.
After a coup, the army seized power there.
On site, the new junta is cooperating with Russian forces from the Wagner mercenary group.
The new government is no longer seen as a reliable partner.
Due to the uncertain situation, and the further protection of the mission with combat helicopters is also unclear, there is now a withdrawal clause in the mandate for Minusma: »If an adequate level of care and protection for German soldiers can no longer be guaranteed during the mandate period, measures are to be taken to adjust the German contribution to the end of the mission.«
»Further deterioration of the security situation«
Minusma has been considered the most dangerous UN mission in the world for years.
The Bundeswehr fears that the situation will deteriorate because France wants to withdraw from Mali by the autumn after the junta has seized power.
Similar to the USA in its international engagement in Afghanistan, the French were seen as a kind of protective power in Mali.
In contrast to the UN mission, their »Barkhane« mission has special forces, fighter jets and armed drones.
Bundeswehr analysts fear that the announced withdrawal of the French anti-terrorist units will have dangerous consequences.
"In the short term," according to a threat analysis by the "Military Intelligence" (MilNw) for the Defense Ministry, there will be a "further deterioration in the security situation."
According to the confidential paper, the withdrawal of the French forces from the "Barkhane" mission will enable the terrorists to move largely freely in the region.
Mr