"Waste of money and time": Bundeswehr could withdraw from Mali even earlier

Federal Defense Minister Pistorius considers the German mission in West Africa pointless under the current conditions.

"Waste of money and time": Bundeswehr could withdraw from Mali even earlier

Federal Defense Minister Pistorius considers the German mission in West Africa pointless under the current conditions. The government of Mali has been making the use of drones more difficult for some time. The Bundeswehr soldiers would also hardly get out of their camp.

Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is considering an earlier withdrawal of the Bundeswehr from West African Mali. "Staying in Mali until May 2024 makes no sense at all under the current conditions," Pistorius told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. In November, the federal government decided to withdraw from the UN mission Minusma, but this should not take place until May 2024. However, one of the conditions for this is that the Bundeswehr is not prevented from using drones again for a longer period of time.

The last time the drones "flew before Christmas," Pistorius told the newspaper. "If our soldiers cannot leave the camp or can only move within a small radius because the drones are not allowed to fly, then they are not fulfilling their mission." Then "this operation is a waste of money and time, especially for the soldiers who are there, separated from their families and friends," criticized the SPD politician. The use of drones, like airplanes and helicopters, must be approved in advance by the Malian government. However, this often did not happen last year, or only with a great deal of delay.

A decision on the Bundeswehr mandate will be made in May, Pistorius said. Before that he will fly to Mali to "look at everything". Around 1,100 Bundeswehr men and women are currently deployed in Mali as part of the UN stabilization mission MINUSMA. The mission serves to protect the civilian population in Mali. It is considered to be the Bundeswehr's most dangerous mission abroad at the moment.

The fact that the federal government does not want to withdraw until May 2024 is also due to the elections in the West African country planned for February of the same year. The EU has already put its training mission in Mali on hold due to numerous problems in cooperation with the military junta and is now increasingly involved in neighboring Niger; Bundeswehr soldiers are also involved in this.