The end of the French army's anti-terrorist mission in Mali has many consequences for German military engagement in the Sahel region.

It is true that France is “only” ending its “Barkhane” military mission, during which operations against Islamist militias have taken place in recent years.

Other military stabilization operations, such as the European military training aid EUTM or the much larger UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA will be continued for the time being.

But first, in these two military operations, the forces are losing some of the protection Barkhane offered them, such as the stationing of French attack helicopters in Mali.

Peter Carstens

Political correspondent in Berlin

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Johannes Leithauser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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The Minister of State in the Federal Foreign Office, Katja Keul, recently made a trip to Bamako to get an overview of the situation there.

Keul said on Thursday that the Malian military government "has so far not sent any credible signals to return to democracy quickly and is also putting obstacles in the way of French commitment".

Two things can be inferred from Keul's statement.

Firstly, the efforts not only of the Western countries involved in Mali, but also of the neighboring African states to induce the new rulers to take rapid steps back to democratic conditions have obviously failed.

Most recently, the new government in Bamako apparently envisaged a transitional period of four to five years.

Secondly, the rift between Bamako and Paris is apparently also an expression of the difficult relationship between a former French colony and the colonial power.

In recent months, not only French soldiers have been restricted in their freedom of movement in Mali or when flying over the country, but German soldiers have also occasionally faced restrictions, for example in the granting of overflight rights.

However, the German staff recently said that these obstacles had been resolved.

Despite this, Keul predicts that the cessation of the French anti-terrorist operation will “also have an impact on joint international engagement.

The fact remains that Germany and the other nations militarily engaged in Mali want to improve the security of the people and the stability of the region.

However, a distinction may have to be made between the EU training mission EUTM and the UN stabilization mission MINUSMA, which has the task of supporting the implementation of the peace agreement between separatists in northern Mali and the government in Bamako and which contributes to the protection of the civilian population.