Denmark announced on Thursday that it will begin withdrawing its troops from Mali after the West African country’s ruling junta insisted on an immediate withdrawal, hitting France’s attempt to trick European allies into bearing part of the burden of fighting jihadists in the region.
The decision comes in the middle of the tension between Mali and its international partners, including regional bodies and the European Union, which have sanctioned Mali after the junta failed to organize elections following two military coups.
Tensions have also escalated over allegations that transitional authorities have deployed private Russian-backed military contractors Wagner groups to Mali, which some EU countries have said was incompatible with their mission.
“We can see that the Malian Transitional Government, or the coup generals, last night sent out a public statement in which they reiterated that Denmark is not welcome in Mali, and we will of course not put up with that,” Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told reporters at Thursday. “So that’s why we’ve decided to bring our soldiers home.”
Denmark had sent 105 troops to Mali on January 18 to join a European special forces mission known as Takuba, which was set up to help Mali fight Islamist militants. It said its troops had been deployed following a “clear invitation” from Mali.
But the Malian government said this week it was surprised by the Danish presence because a decision had not yet been made on a request from Denmark in June to deploy troops.
Junta lashes at French “colonial reflexes”
Denmark’s withdrawal, which comes after Sweden confirmed earlier this month that it would leave Mali in March, is a headache for France, which had invested so much in “Europeanizing” the country’s. intervention in the Sahel regionwhere Paris has thousands of troops operating.
Relations between France and its former colony have deteriorated, and on Wednesday the junta struck out at Paris, telling it to stop interfering and to keep its “colonial reflexes” to itself.
France and 14 other European countries had called on the junta on Wednesday to allow Danish special forces to remain in Mali, rejecting the junta’s claim that their presence had no legal basis. Government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga replied that the Danes must withdraw immediately.
“We urge them (the Danes) to be careful with certain partners who unfortunately have problems getting rid of their colonial reflexes,” said Maiga.
The junta’s decision to ask Denmark to leave is likely to affect future deployments, with Norway, Hungary, Portugal, Romania and Lithuania all ready to send troops this year.
Norway, Portugal and Hungary are still waiting for approval to deploy their special forces, the junta said.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
Originally published on France24
Source: sn.dk