Just a few days after twelve Bundeswehr soldiers were wounded in a suicide attack in Mali on Friday, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer met UN Secretary General António Guterres on Tuesday in New York.

The minister had announced that “realistic political goals” had to be formulated for the operation in the West African country - and the UN Security Council would be responsible for this.

However, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), in which the Bundeswehr has been involved since 2013, would have been one of the most important topics of the conversation even without the attack.

Franca Wittenbrink

Editor in politics.

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    Because almost eight years after the start of the mission, which the Security Council extended for another year on Tuesday, the situation in the West African country has reached a new low.

    In May, the military staged a coup against the government for the second time in nine months.

    There can be no question of “stabilization”: political instability and terrorism have been increasing for years.

    German security authorities attribute the attack on the Bundeswehr to a group associated with the terrorist organization al-Qaeda.

    Macron has drawn his conclusions

    French President Emmanuel Macron has drawn his conclusions from the situation: he recently announced that he would end the military operation "Barkhane" in Mali; a large number of the 5100 French soldiers are to be withdrawn. The Bundeswehr, on the other hand, should continue its involvement both in the “Training Mission of the European Union” (EUTM) and in MINUSMA. The UN Security Council called on Guterres on Tuesday to submit a report by July 15, including recommendations on a possible reinforcement of the UN troops, “in view of the growing level of insecurity and physical violence against the civilian population in central Mali”. Around 13,000 so-called blue helmet soldiers and almost 2,000 police officers are currently involved in the operation; the upper limit for the Bundeswehr, whose mandate was extended by a further year in May,is 1,100 soldiers.

    After the attack on the Bundeswehr, Kramp-Karrenbauer referred to Afghanistan, which the last German soldiers left just as they were in New York. The aim of transforming a country into a European-style state within a short period of time is ultimately unattainable, according to the minister. In fact, there is much to be said in Mali that the United Nations have formulated claims on which they can only fail. While counter-terrorism operations are not part of the mandate, the relevant Security Council resolution defines MINUSMA's priority tasks as supporting the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement and the stabilization and restoration of state authority, the protection of civilians,the promotion of human rights and humanitarian aid.

    "Grueling guerrilla warfare"

    The specifically formulated goals have become more and more demanding over the years.

    For example, the protection of women has been added as an “elementary component”;

    For a time, protecting Mali's cultural heritage was also part of the mission's mandate.

    "These are extremely ambitious goals," says UN expert Richard Gowan from the International Crisis Group in an interview with the FAZ. Unfortunately, the real possibilities of a peacekeeping force are far from this - especially in such an unstable region as the Sahel.