By John Ikani
Mali’s military government on Monday called on Denmark to “immediately” withdraw its roughly 100 recently arrived special forces troops deployed in the troubled Sahel country.
The military government – which took power in a coup in 2020 – said the deployment of about 90 Danish soldiers had taken place without its consent.
Background
A grouping of European Special Forces designed to accompany Malian soldiers in combat against jihadists, the Takuba “task force” was launched in March 2020 at the initiative of France to share the burden with its European partners.
Denmark announced last week the arrival of 90 men in Mali, mostly elite soldiers and military surgeons, who are supposed to participate in Takuba to protect civilians against jihadists in the so-called tri-border area (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) and be based in Menaka (eastern Mali).
Other contributors are the Netherlands, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Italy and Hungary.
Deployment was without our consent – Mali
The government in a statement on state TV and published on social media said it “notes with astonishment, the deployment on its territory of a contingent of Danish special forces within the Takuba force.”
“The government underlines that this deployment took place without its consent, and without consideration of the additional protocol applicable to European partners who take part in the framework of the Takuba Task Force,” it said.
Denmark says it’s in touch with the government in Bamako and is working intensely to clarify the situation.
What you should know
The request for the withdrawal of the Danish contingent adds to the friction between Mali and its partners, as France questions the way forward with a junta that intends to stay in power for several years and that Bamako’s partners accuse of having opened the doors to mercenaries from the private Russian company Wagner.
The countries involved in Takuba had protested in late December, along with other Western countries, against the use of Wagner.
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