The EU’s military training mission in the West African crisis country of Mali is initially considered over.
For the time being, the European Union is ending its military training mission in the West African crisis-ridden state of Mali. This was announced by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday after a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. As early as February, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht expressed increasing doubts about the deployment of the Bundeswehr in Mali. After a French withdrawal decision, the Austrian-led EU training mission (EUTM) in Mali also wobbled.
At that time, experts checked on the spot whether the requirements for the training of regional armed forces by the EU mission were met. The EU foreign policy chief said the EU could not stay in Mali “at any price”. Borrell said that there were “insufficient guarantees” that the Russian mercenary group Wagner would not intervene in the conflict. However, the EU wants to continue to get involved in Mali’s neighboring countries in the Sahel.
Austria involved with 90 soldiers
The Austrian Armed Forces are involved in the EU training mission EUTM and the UN mission MINUSMA with a total of around 90 soldiers. EUTM was last led by the Austrian Brigadier Christian Riener. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is expected in the country on Tuesday night.
Most recently, around 300 German soldiers trained members of the Malian army to fight militias and terrorist groups as part of the mission. The German Bundeswehr is also supporting the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma with around a thousand Bundeswehr soldiers in Mali, which aims to stabilize the country and protect the civilian population. Germany wants to know what future this mission has, said Borrell.
(APA/red)