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Bundeswehr soldiers in Mali
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa
The Bundeswehr wants to change its contingent in Mali.
But that won't happen any time soon.
This emerges from a letter from the Ministry of Defense to the chairmen of the Defense Committee, which SPIEGEL has seen.
From the German side, all the requirements for the planned quota change have been met, it says.
However, formal approval by Mali is still pending.
The ministry writes: "It cannot therefore be ruled out that this flight will also have to be postponed again due to the challenges described."
The flight had to be postponed last week because Mali's government denied the Bundeswehr overflight rights.
As a result, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) suspended the German reconnaissance operations as part of the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma.
The Ministry justifies the waiting time with upcoming troop changes from other nations: "For the Minusma Mission, the personnel rotation of the large West African troop providers, whose soldiers have now been deployed for up to twenty months, has top priority." The rotations of these troop contingents have already begun .
The traffic jam when the blue helmet soldiers changed personnel resulted from a new registration procedure.
"The implementation of this new, bureaucratic and more complex system poses challenges for everyone involved, including the Minusma mission and the Malian authorities." The procedures have not yet become established;
"In some places there are still uncertainties and there is a lack of human resources for processing," according to the ministry.
However, the supply of the troops is ensured.
It is still possible to fly directly to the northern Malian city of Gao.
The majority of the approximately 1,100 Bundeswehr personnel are stationed there.
"The supply of the Minusma contingent is ensured thanks to extensive stocks for the next few weeks," writes the military department.