At the Bundeswehr mission in Mali, a dangerous incident has occurred. According to SPIEGEL information, late on Saturday evening the convoy of a German patrol was shot at by Malian soldiers. There was a firefight between the Germans and the local soldiers.
Originally, the Germans had recovered an armored troopship of the type "Dingo" of the Belgian armed forces 50 kilometers west of Gao in northern Mali on Saturday evening at 9 pm (local time). On the way back to the UN camp the convoy was suddenly shot at. The German soldiers then responded to the fire.
Only later did the Bundeswehr soldiers discover that they had probably been shot at by the Malian army, with whom the UNO mission Minusma actually cooperated closely. A soldier from the local army - the "Forces de Défense et de Sécurité du Mali" - suffered serious injuries.
Active in Mali since 2013
The German soldiers immediately transported the injured Malian soldiers to the UNO camp. He is still in mortal danger and should probably be flown to the capital Bamako. The Bundeswehr now investigates why the native soldiers have fired at the German patrol - and whether the soldier has been injured by German bullets.
The German Armed Forces has been involved in the UNO stabilization mission Minusma since 2013. At present, around 1,000 soldiers and reconnaissance drones of the "Heron" type are stationed in northern Mali. From the Camp Castor in Gao, the Germans patrol in the vicinity of the camp, but do not participate in the terrorist hunt of the French.