Denmark brings back troops from Mali after opposition by junta
Denmark has accused General Coup of playing a dirty political game after the junta withdrew its invitation to deploy Danish troops.
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said the military junta, which came to power in the August 2020 coup, does not want a quick return to democracy. (AP)
Denmark has announced that it will withdraw 90 newly deployed troops from Mali in response to repeated demands from the poor Sahel junta.
Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod referred to repeated requests from Mali’s leadership, saying “General Coup has issued an official statement reiterating that Denmark is not welcome in Mali.”
“Of course, we don’t accept it, which is why we also decided to bring our troops home,” Cofod said at a press conference after a parliamentary meeting.
“We are there at Mali’s invitation. The coup general withdrew that invitation in a dirty political game. Unfortunately, they don’t want to return to democracy anytime soon, so it’s us. It’s a game you see, “cofod added.
Mali has struggled to put down the first brutal jihadist conflict that first occurred in 2012 before it spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.
read more:
Mali, a spar of troops over the deployment of French-led Danish troops
Issues
The junta, which came to power in a coup in August 2020, called on Denmark to withdraw its troops first on Monday, following deployments that it said it took place without consent.
The next day, Cofod told reporters that the Danish army was “clearly” in Mali at the invitation and his government was trying to clarify the problem.
Mali’s junta responded late Wednesday by repeating the request, calling Cofod’s comment “inappropriate.”
A delegation of about 90 Danish soldiers arrived in Mali and joined the European special forces to support the country’s counter-jihad operations earlier this month.
Denmark has previously dispatched troops to participate in military intervention in Mali, some participating in UN MINUSMA peacekeeping forces and others in France-led operations in Balkane.
The new unit joined Task Force Cuba, a 900-member French-led unit launched in March 2020.
Other contributors are the Netherlands, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Czech Republic, Portugal, Italy and Hungary.
read more: Thousands of Maris protest African block sanctions against junta
Source: AFP
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