After weeks of a blockade by the Malian military regime, a troop transport from Germany started again on Thursday to exchange members of the Bundeswehr contingent.
As reported by the Operations Command, the charter plane of a private airline took off from Cologne shortly before six.
There were around 90 soldiers on board, most of whom are to be deployed with the United Nations Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
The plane is scheduled to arrive in Mali at noon.
Peter Carstens
Political correspondent in Berlin
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The night before, it was still unclear whether the plane would be allowed to land after a flight planned for Friday last week with more than 130 infantrymen failed to receive approval from the junta.
As a result, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) suspended the German MINUSMA commitment.
On Wednesday evening, the ministry's defense committee representatives were informed that the flight could be banned again.
Formal approval had not been received in Berlin by the evening.
The chairwoman of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), said in the morning: "We cannot allow ourselves to be fooled by the putschist government." The ongoing harassment is "unacceptable".
The chairman of the AfD in the defense committee, Rüdiger Lucassen, said that the behavior of the regime in Bamako was clearly a "state blackmail" of Germany by Mali.
“Ever since the Federal Republic was founded, there has been a principle: the state must not allow itself to be blackmailed.
The current federal government is abandoning this course and making itself open to blackmail.” Lucassen demanded the withdrawal from Mali.
On the other hand, the SPD politician Siemtje Möller had announced on behalf of the federal government that they wanted to continue to be involved in MINUSMA in Mali.
After the withdrawal of France, Germany is the last remaining major Western troop provider in the mission.