Tensions between the military in power in Mali and France rose a further notch on Thursday, January 27. “This junta is illegitimate and is taking irresponsible measures”, declared the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, during a press conference. He was reacting to the announcement of the repatriation, at the request of Bamako, of a hundred Danish soldiers who were to participate in the Takuba force.
Created in 2020 at the initiative of France, Takuba is a group of nearly 800 French and European (mainly Czech and Estonian) elite soldiers, deployed under the aegis of the Barkhane anti-terrorist operation and based in Mali, near borders with Niger and Burkina Faso. This force was created as part of the progressive disengagement of the French army in Mali.
The arrival of a hundred Danish soldiers, who came to replace a Swedish contingent, had been announced on January 18 and had been planned since the spring of 2021. But on Monday, Mali had asked for their withdrawal for the first time, saying that their deployment was “intervened without his consent”. Denmark replied that it had received a “clear invitation” of the Malian regime, but the junta reiterated its demand “insistently” overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
“We invite [le Danemark] to pay attention to certain partners who unfortunately find it difficult to get rid of colonial reflexes”had commented a spokesman for the Malian government, Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, in a barely veiled tackle to France.
“The ruling generals sent a clear message, where they reaffirmed that Denmark was not welcome in Mali. We do not accept it and, for this reason, we have decided to repatriate our soldiers”, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod announced on Thursday. This withdrawal will take several weeks, warned the Danish army.
The putschist generals – in a dirty political game – withdrew this invitation (…) because they do not want a quick plan to return to democracy.
Jeppe Kofod, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmarkafter a meeting in the Danish Parliament
The military took power in Mali in a putsch in August 2020, and consolidated it after a second coup in May 2021. They went back on their initial commitment to organize elections in February 2022 to return power to civilians. Since then, relations between Bamako and Paris have deteriorated markedly, particularly regarding the deployment of mercenaries from the Russian group Wagner, which Mali continues to deny.
The Minister for the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, had already accused the military of multiplying “the provocations”. In response, the spokesperson for the Malian government had asked him, in a colorful formula, to be silent: “We also invite him – it’s advice – to make this sentence of Alfred de Vigny his own on the greatness of silence”.