• Germany halts military operations in Mali after Bamako refused a flight clearance.
• Germany has 1,000 troops in Mali, the majority of whom are stationed near the northern town of Gao.
• Their primary mission is to gather intelligence for the UN peacekeeping mission, Minusma.

Germany has halted the majority of its military operations in Mali after Bamako authorities refused a flight clearance, the German Ministry of Defence announced on Friday.

Berlin has approximately 1,000 troops in Mali, the majority of whom are stationed near the northern town of Gao, where their primary mission is to gather intelligence for the UN peacekeeping mission, Minusma.

The suspension is in effect until further notice, and it is intended to protest the Malian authorities’ refusal to authorise a flight scheduled for Friday that would have provided a personnel rotation.

“It is no longer possible to support Minusma operationally, without the new personnel who were to partly replace the French forces who are withdrawing,” a spokesman for the German Ministry of Defence said.

Mali had already withdrawn clearances for German flights over the country in early August, but had later reversed that decision.

The German decision comes as Mali faces a resurgence of attacks and has also driven out a French force that was assisting in the fight against jihadism.

Since then, the military-led government has increased cooperation with Moscow, causing relations with Paris to deteriorate in recent months.

Relations between Mali and the United Nations, which has had peacekeepers in the country since 2013, have also deteriorated in recent weeks.

[embedpost slug=”egypt-to-suspend-role-in-un-peace-operations-in-mali/”]