Denmark Says It Received 'clear Invitation' For Mali Deployment

Denmark says it received 'clear invitation' for Mali deployment

Brussels, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jan, 2022 ) :Denmark sent special forces to Mali following a "clear invitation" from the Malian regime and wants to "clarify" why it suddenly asked for them to leave, its top diplomat said Tuesday.

"Denmark is there against the background of a clear invitation and on a clear basis, like the others in the operation," Denmark's Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told reporters during a trip to Brussels.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Copenhagen also said the Danish contribution has "been welcomed by both the previous Malian government and also on earlier occasions by the current transitional government".

On Monday evening, the ruling military government which came to power in a coup in August 2020, called on Denmark to "immediately withdraw its recently arrived contingent of nearly 100 special forces".

In a statement broadcasted on state tv and published on social media the junta said the deployment, which is part of the European Takuba force, "was undertaken without consent".

"There is currently a difficult diplomatic discussion with the transitional government. They have suspended democracy, and we want to see it return as soon as possible," Kofod said.

Kofod also lamented that the Malian government had "invited Russian mercenaries in the form of the Wagner group", which he said was "deeply problematic".

"We are still working to clarify the basis for the transitional government's statements and their content," he said.

The force, whose deployment was announced in April 2021, is stationed in Menaka in eastern Mali. Its mandate was due to run until early 2023.

Denmark has previously sent troops to participate in military interventions in Mali, some with the UN's MINUSMA peacekeeping force and others with the French-led Operation Barkhane.

The new contingent is part of Task Force Takuba -- a 900-troop French-led unit launched in March 2020.

Other contributors are the Netherlands, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Italy and Hungary.

Mali is one of the priority countries for Danish development aid.

Between 2017 and 2022, some 122 million Euros have been spent on the African country, and many Danish and Scandinavian NGOs are active in Mali.