Newsletter 2013/01/30 – The German Contribution to the War in Mali
BAMAKO/BERLIN (Own report) – Berlin has pledged millions in new
contributions for the war in Mali. The German Foreign Ministry has
confirmed that the government would provide about US $20 million for
the Malian armed forces and an African intervention force, as well as
other aid in the form of transport flights. At the same time, Germany
will “emphatically” seek to exert political influence, Foreign
Minister Guido Westerwelle announced. According to reports, other
western countries and Berlin’s close cooperation partners have played
a significant role in enabling Islamist forces to take control of
northern Mali. Malian Special Forces, for example, trained in
counterterrorism skills by the US military, had changed sides and
joined the insurgents soon after the Tuareg conflict began in early
2010, significantly strengthening these rebels. Berlin’s close
cooperation partners, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are supporting Islamist
militias. Already over the past few years, they had been establishing
Islamist structures in northern Mali, which now benefit Islamist
militias to some extent. Both countries cooperate with Germany and the
rest of the West not only economically but also in the Syrian war.
more