Mali’s ruling junta demanded Monday that Denmark “immediately” withdraw the 100 soldiers who recently arrived in the crisis-hit country to participate in the European special forces grouping Takuba initiated by France.
The Malian government, dominated by the military that came to power in a coup in August 2020, said in a statement read on national television and published on social networks that “this deployment occurred without its consent.
Denmark announced last week the arrival in Mali of 90 men, mostly elite soldiers and military surgeons, who are supposed to participate in Takuba to protect civilians against jihadists in the so-called tri-border area (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) and who will be based in Menaka (eastern Mali).
Exceptional in the context of the security and political crisis that has shaken Mali for years, the request for the withdrawal of this Danish contingent comes in the midst of a tug-of-war between the junta and part of the international community that wants to see it keep its commitment to return power to civilians in the near future. Relations with France in particular have deteriorated severely.