While Berlin hopes to wrap up its decade-long mission in Mali by May 2024, delays have occurred due to disagreements with the ruling military junta in Bamako and the presence of Russian forces.
The vote in favor of extending Germany’s military presence in the country was 375 to 263. One person did not vote.
About a thousand German soldiers have been sent to Mali, mostly in the area around the northern town of Gao. Their primary mission is to conduct reconnaissance for the United Nations peacekeeping mission MINUSMA.
Although MINUSMA was established in 2013 to aid international and local forces in their fight against Islamist militants, tensions between the Malian government and the mission have been on the rise in recent months.
About 12,000 military personnel are serving with MINUSMA. Chad, Bangladesh, and Egypt are the top three contributors.
Since a military coup in 2020 and the government inviting fighters from the Wagner Group, a private military company with ties to the Kremlin, to support its fight against insurgents, relations between Europe and Mali have worsened.
