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Bundeswehr soldiers in Mali
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa
The Bundeswehr wants to exchange part of its contingent in Mali.
But that won't happen any time soon.
This emerges from a letter from the Ministry of Defense to the representatives of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, 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 20 months, has top priority." The rotations of these troop contingents have already begun .
"Sometimes there are still uncertainties"
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."
"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.
The Bundeswehr Operations Command recently reported that around 30 apparently Russian security forces were sighted at Gao Airport at the beginning of the week.
A process that caused concern in the federal government.
A control of the airport by Russian forces is considered a red line for further involvement in the Minusma operation.
Despite constant provocations by the Malian military government, the federal government is sticking to the mission.
So far, the Federal Foreign Office, which is in charge, has been concerned that local terrorist militias could further destabilize Mali if international troops were to withdraw.
An expansion of the Russian influence, which is already growing in the Sahel region, is also to be prevented.