Germany at a crossroads over Sahel mission

Germany's parliament is debating its deployment of troops to Mali and other Sahel states that are part of the multinational European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM) and the United Nations peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA).

"The deployment of the Bundeswehr is becoming more and more of a complete disaster," said Sevim Dagdelen, a member of the Bundestag for German's socialist Left Party (Die Linke) and spokeswoman for international relations and disarmament.

Escalating protests against the West followed by a spike in jihadi activities and political upheavals in many Sahel countries forced France to withdraw its troops from Mali in mid-March, putting an end to its Barkhane and Takuba anti-terrorist operations. 

Germany has about 300 troops under EUTM mandate and 1,000 soldiers as part of MINUSMA in Mali. When France withdrew its troops, it left the Bundeswehr soldiers without any air cover. However, the lower house of German parliament, the Bundestag, voted in April to extend the troops' mission.

Some German politicians were not happy. Dagdelen said: "Neither the rescue chain nor sufficient protection from the air is secured." She added it was "irresponsible" to leave the Bundeswehr there.

The Bundestag agreed to extend the Bundeswehr mission under a so-called opt-out clause with MINUSMA. Under this agreement, "measures to readjust Germany's contribution including ending the mission can be called into play" if the protection of German soldiers can no longer be adequately guaranteed. The resolution thus leaves room to maneuver.

Russian flags in Ouagadougou

Meanwhile, attention has shifted to Burkina Faso, which in September was hit by its second military coup this year, overthrowing the leaders who took power in an earlier coup. The new strongman, Ibrahim Traore, is not expected to hold democratic elections until 2024 at the earliest.

The regime in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, only has about 30% of the country's lands under its control.

Traore vowed to stand up to Burkina Faso's growing Islamist insurgency — the main reason why he toppled the previous coup leader, Colonel Sandaogo Damiba.

Unlike his predecessor, Traore has not ruled out seeking Russia's help to achieve his goals. There is huge support among the population for him to do so.

Mali and the Central African Republic have sought Moscow's help to deal with their unrest. In return, Russia's private military firm Wagner Group  — accused of serious human rights violations — would extend its spheres of political influence in the region.

With its attention focused on the war in Ukraine, many wonder if Moscow currently has the means to enter into another theater of fighting jihadis.  

Nonetheless, many in Ouagadougou want the new junta regime to reach out to Moscow. Immediately after Traore announced his putsch, Alassane, a tailor working in the Burkinabe capital, told French news agency AFP that he "only sewed Russian flags."

"There were some orders in bulk," he said.

Heated debates in Berlin

Mali's new military rulers still maintain strong ties to Moscow. Earlier this week, junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin to intensify their partnership, according to Russian media.

Amid the growing food crisis and price hikes, Putin promised to provide humanitarian aid to low-income Sahel countries in the form of 300,000 tons of artificial fertilizer.

Despite his renewed focus on Moscow, Colonel Goita's has maintained a working relationship with Germany. In this tense situation, top politicians in the German governing coalition want out of the Mali mission immediately.

Some strong objections to the mission were recently made in the Die Welt newspaper by Joe Weingarten of the Social Democrats and Marcus Faber of the business-friendly FDP .

But Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of Germany's environmentalist Green Party is sticking to the mission. The three parties form Germany's coalition government.

Not just yet

"We currently have to monitor the situation day by day and discuss it intensively," Agnieszka Brugger, the deputy head of the Green party parliamentary group, told DW.

That is the current consensus in the Bundestag and in its Defense Committee. However, Brugger does not see withdrawal any time soon and does not consider it sensible from a foreign policy standpoint.

However, she acknowledges that the involvement of Russian mercenaries will lead to a further deterioration in the human rights and security situation.

"We've been observing for a long time that countries like China, but above all Russia, are also trying to expand their influence in the Sahel region," Brugger said.

Such rhetoric does not put the concerns and needs of the civilian population first, but Brugger says it is precisely against this backdrop that Germany needs to proceed with caution.

"We already observe that the Russian operations in northern Mali are taking place with a very high degree of ruthlessness," she said. Brugger believes that withdrawing the Bundeswehr will leave the fields entirely to these forces.

"MINUSMA is making a major contribution to stabilizing Mali and the Sahel," said Wendyam Sawadogo, a political scientist and conflict researcher in Ouagadougou.

Many expected a clear outcome after nine years of international troops' presence in the Sahel. But according to Sawadogo, the negative attitude of the military government did not make things any easier.

In an interview with DW, the expert who works for the Dutch think tank Clingendael warned that the rise of Russian influence in the Sahel — which is sometimes cited in Berlin as a reason for withdrawal demands — will increase if the German mission ends.

"International development partners should avoid taking an impulsive stance on the Russian presence. Rather, the European Union should focus on improving its relations with countries like Mali and Burkina Faso," Sawadogo said.

More recently, the French engagement in the Sahel was under massive criticism, as a result of which the country withdrew militarily from Mali. The accusation: The former colonial power is primarily covering up its own economic interests with its military action — now especially in Niger.

Step out of the French shadow

Left-wing MP Dagdelen also slams the French presence in the Sahel.

For example, she cites the fact that France runs its nuclear power plants with Nigerien uranium, while the population of the Sahel state suffers from blackouts and hunger.

"Germany is increasingly in danger of being perceived as an accomplice to the dirty French colonial policy," said Dagdelen.

Green parliamentary group leader Agnieszka Brugger admitted that there have been shortcomings: Berlin and Brussels have not carried out a comprehensive assessment of France's involvement in Mali for a long time.

"This is something that we should have discussed much earlier and much more clearly at European level," said the Greens' defense expert.

"And we would have needed a common European strategy and a stronger commitment from Germany instead of sitting out certain, even difficult, issues," Brugger maintained.

For Brugger, there is no question that a rethink is necessary in the Sahel. She considers it particularly important that the civil processes are given even more support alongside military action.

"It must be clear that security forces can only be trained in a stable political environment, with reliable actors who are also interested in political reforms," said Brugger.

"Otherwise it can quickly come to a coup and in the end our contributions do not achieve what we originally wanted, but in the worst case also cause damage," she added.

It is not without reason that the European Training Mission (EUTM) stopped working in Mali and is now working in Niger. There is a government in power that is sticking to a pro-Western policy — at least so far.

This article was originally written in German and adapted by Abu-Bakarr Jalloh.