The UN Security Council has announced the closure of the UN mission in Mali, Der Tagesspiegel reports. The peacekeepers have been given a period of six months to leave the country. But Germany says it has to hurry and wants to withdraw its contingent before the end of the year. Preparations for the redeployment have been underway for weeks and have already begun, Berlin said.
After 10 years, the United Nations peacekeeping mission MINUSMA will be withdrawn from Mali, Der Tagesspiegel reported. The decision was taken by the UN Security Council, giving peacekeepers a period of six months to leave the country. However, Eva Högl, the German Bundestag’s commissioner for military affairs, believes the German soldiers should be returned home before the end of the year.
“The top priority is the protection of German soldiers, international forces and civil servants,” she stressed. – That is why an orderly and safe withdrawal must be ensured in close coordination and together with our partners.”
The original mandate of the Bundestag was that the Bundeswehr would leave the country no later than May 2024. But Högl is demanding a hurry. According to her, preparations for the relocation have been underway for weeks and they have already started.
Diplomatic disputes between the Malian government and the UN have led to such a development. Berlin announced last November that it was pulling out its troops because the mission had been obstructed. In mid-June, the Malian authorities demanded that all 12 000 UN peacekeepers leave the country.
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