Mali Orders Immediate Withdrawal Of Danish Forces Helping Fight Jihadists

Mali, on Monday, asked Denmark to withdraw hundreds of soldiers that it had made available to fight in a European task force initiated by France to fight jihadists in the West African country.

The military junta in Bamako demanded that the withdrawal be immediate as Copenhagen had deployed the soldiers without its consent.

Last week, Denmark announced, the arrival in Mali of 90 men, mostly elite soldiers and military surgeons, to participate in “Takuba” (the military taskforce) to protect civilians against jihadists in the tri-border area (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger). It said the soldiers would be based in Menaka (eastern Mali).

The Takuba “task force” made up of European Special Forces designed to accompany Malian soldiers in combat against jihadists, was launched in March 2020 at the initiative of France to share the burden with its European partners.

However, the Malian government said in a communiqué that the deployment of Danish forces was done without a bilateral agreement, as protocol applicable to countries participating in Takuba requires.

Consequently, “the Republic of Mali invites the Danish side to immediately withdraw the said contingent from the territory,” as the government reminds its partners involved in the fight against jihadism “the need to obtain the prior agreement of the Malian authorities before any deployment in Mali.”

The statement comes as relations between the junta and the international community is souring over demands that Mali returns to civilian rule.

Relations with France in particular, which has been militarily engaged in Mali and the Sahel since 2013, have deteriorated severely. On January 9, ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Mali.

ECOWAS has also been closing borders to Mali to which it has retaliated by closing its borders in return. The landlocked West African country is subjecting the entry of aircraft into its airspace to new approvals and procedures. It also said it had requested a review of its defence agreements with France.

On Monday evening, the Danish Foreign Ministry responded to the demand by saying Danish authorities were “working intensively to bring more clarity to the situation” and were “in contact with the Malian transitional government.”

In addition to France, which is leading Takuba, the Netherlands, Estonia, Sweden, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Norway, Portugal, Italy, and Hungary are participating.