Stigmatizing Bamako’s “dirty political game”, Danish Foreign Minister Jepe Kofol announced on Thursday that his country would repatriate the fewer than 100 troops it deployed in Mali, as demanded by the military junta, a new development blow to the French anti-jihadist mission led by France in the African country.
Although Paris and 14 other European governments called on the transitional government on Wednesday to allow the Danes to stay, rejecting allegations that it had no legal basis, Bamako insisted they should leave without delay.
According to the DR television network, about 90 military personnel, including medical personnel and members of the special forces deployed in Mali about a week ago, will all retire. “The generals in power (…) have reaffirmed that Denmark is not welcome in Mali,” Kofol said. Parliament in Copenhagen.
The junta earlier this week demanded that the Danish special forces, which joined the Takumba mission, withdraw “immediately”, claiming that they had been deployed without its consent. “We were there at the invitation of Mali. “The coup generals – playing a dirty political game – withdrew the invitation,” the Danish foreign minister said, adding that they had no intention of drawing up a “plan for a speedy return to democracy”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian later expressed his support for Denmark. The “illegal” junta, he stressed, “takes irresponsible measures” and bears “full responsibility for the withdrawal of Danish forces.” The development “further isolates it from the country’s international partners,” Lentrian added.
The countries contributing troops to Tacumba are set to discuss the future of this European Special Forces mission, set up in 2020 at the initiative of France to take action against jihadist groups in the Sahel region, via video conference on Friday. Norway, Portugal and Hungary are still awaiting approval from Bamako to deploy members of their special forces. Other countries that are theoretically going to develop forces in the near future are Romania and Lithuania.
Mali has experienced three military coups since 2012 – most recently in May 2021 – and is considered an extremely politically unstable country. The former French colony of 20 million people has been in an endless storm for years, with the authorities having little control over the urban centers, mainly due to the activities of organizations that swear allegiance to either the Islamic State (IS) or Al Qaeda. In addition to Mali, jihadist groups are also launching attacks in Niger and Burkina Faso.
The Danish military has said that the withdrawal of personnel and equipment will take several weeks.
The new hurdle for European power lies in the midst of the continuing deterioration of relations between Paris and Bamako. The military junta reached the point a few days ago to call on France to put aside its “colonial reflexes”; while, when the French Minister of Defense Florence Parley accused the regime of multiplying the “challenges”, a senior executive who would like the “advice” to close her mouth to look like a smile. On Wednesday, the military regime demanded that Denmark “apologize”, while at the same time praising its contribution to the UN mission.
The development of the Russian mercenary Wagner’s company in Mali remains the apple of contention between the junta and the West.
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