The German cabinet authorized participation in an EU military action in Niger. Germany will deploy up to sixty soldiers to Niger as part of an effort by the European Union to assist the Niamey administration in reinforcing its armed forces.
The final decision about Berlin’s participation rests with the German parliament, which will likely vote at the end of April.
In December, the leaders of the European Union decided to send a three-year military mission to Niger. Initially, possibly fifty to one hundred European troops will aid the country in improving its logistics and infrastructure. Ultimately, this amount might reach 300.
Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, is threatened by the neighboring nation of Mali. Islamic militants have been gaining ground since the withdrawal of French and other European forces.
Beginning in 2018, the German military trained around 150 members of Niger’s special forces; this operation concluded at the end of 2022.
Approximately one thousand German troops are still stationed in neighboring Mali, mostly in the northern city of Gao. Their main responsibility is to gather reconnaissance for the United Nations peacekeeping operation.
This effort has been hampered by disagreements with Mali’s ruling military junta, and the expanding Russian military involvement in the nation has caused anxiety in the West.
Germany decided in November to remove its forces from Mali by May 2024. They are following the example of France and other European nations, including Britain.
Since Mali’s government contracted with the Wagner Group, a private military organization with connections to the Kremlin, to help in its fight against rebels, European relations with the nation have deteriorated.
