EU to end military training mission in Mali

The European Union has announced the end of its military training missions in Mali, saying the ruling Malian junta is not able to guarantee that Russian military contractors would not interfere in the work. But the block said it would keep a military presence in the Sahel region.

Members of FAMA special forces in July 2019. The EU says it is ending its training missions in the country, including its training of Malian armed forces. © Marco Longari/AFP

"We are halting the training missions for the [Malian] armed forces and national guard," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a media conference Monday after chairing a meeting of foreign ministers that discussed the situation in Mali.

However, Borrell added, "the Sahel remains a priority. We're not giving up on the Sahel, far from it. We want to commit even more to that region."

He said ministers decided that developments in Mali "have forced us to see there were not sufficient guarantees... on non-interference by the Wagner group," a Russian private military organisation that Mali has enlisted to help fight an ongoing Islamist insurgency.

France and other countries say the group is operating in Mali as an armed force, though Russia says they are military trainers.

It has been accused of human rights violations. Last week France expressed concern over reports that Malian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries killed over 200 civilians in an operation last month in the Malian village of Moura.

• Russia blocks request for investigation into alleged massacre in Mali

Other missions in doubt

The EU’s decision to end its training missions raises questions about the longevity of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, and the EU’s EUTM military training mission and EUCAP capacity building operation, following on France's decision last year to withdraw its troops from Mali in February.

France decided to end its nearly ten-year operation to fight Islamic extremists after a breakdown in relations with the country's ruling junta that took over in a coup in 2020.

• 'End of an era' as France pulls out of Mali. Was the mission a failure?

Since then, other countries have been considering what to do with their troops in Mali.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will travel to Mali Tuesday to meet with Mali’s junta leaders this week, with the aim of getting "a precise picture of the political and security situation on the ground" a spokesperson said, as Germany weighs its ongoing participation in military missions in Mali.

Germany has around 1,100 soldiers deployed as part of MINUSMA, and it also contributed some 300 troops to the EU military training mission, that is now ending.

(with wires)