Germany must review its deployment of Bundeswehr troops in Mali and consider terminating them, according to the nation's parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces.
"We must analyze this unsparingly. And so this option must also be on the table," Eva Högl told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) in Berlin.
Högl said Germany's international partners in the West African nation must agree on "realistic goals." Germany should play an active role in this process and present an honest interim assessment, she explained.
Germany's Bundeswehr is currently involved in the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINSUMA) and the European Union training mission EUTM Mali – with just over 1,350 soldiers at last count.
Högl visited Mali and neighboring Niger before Christmas. She advised making a very clear distinction between MINSUMA and EUTM.
"With MINSUMA, a lot depends on how the situation in Mali develops. The mission is to secure the peace agreement and build state structures," she said. "There was the second coup. When I was there, the election had just been canceled and postponed to an unspecified date. I put a big question mark on that mission," she added.
By contrast, she spoke positively of EUTM, which she said worked particularly well in Niger.
"I had the impression in Niger that, despite the difficulties that this country also has, more is possible in terms of support and training than is the case in Mali. In Niger, there is a reasonably stable democracy with elections and a government that addresses the problems," said Högl.
