The European Union decided on Monday "to stop" its training and training missions for the army and the national guard in Mali, but will remain in the Sahel and deploy in neighboring countries, announced the head of European diplomacy.

Disagree with the junta

“We are stopping the training missions and the training of the armed forces and the national guard, but we are going to continue training on the laws of war, because the military must know that war has laws and rules of the game. Spaniard Josep Borrell explained after a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

“Events force us to this decision.

We have not obtained (from the junta) the requested guarantees.

But we are not abandoning the Sahel.

We will deploy to neighboring countries,” he explained.

Germany on the way out?

Germany plans to withdraw its soldiers present in Mali as part of the EU training mission and the United Nations mission in Mali, Minusma.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has planned to meet the head of the Malian junta during a trip to Mali this week.

She wants to "get a clear idea of ​​​​the political and security situation" in order to decide whether or not to maintain the Bundeswehr, explained a spokesman for the ministry.

Some 300 German soldiers participate in the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM), and 1,100 soldiers in Minusma, which has 14,000 soldiers and police.

“The question is how the Minusma will be able to continue to work.

If it is to remain blind and deaf in barracks, it is not necessary to stay, ”said Josep Borrell.

The presence of the Wagner group

The main problem facing the EU is the presence of mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group, who came to Mali at the call of the junta, and the collaboration of units of the Malian army trained by the EU in their activities.

The Europeans are calling for an independent investigation into the events that took place in Moura, in the center of the country, between March 27 and 31.

The army is said to have "neutralized" 203 jihadists during a major operation.

But testimonies report the mass execution of civilians by Malian soldiers and "foreign fighters".

The Moura region is one of the main centers of violence in the Sahel.

The United Nations has announced that it has opened an investigation.

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