In the middle of last week, French imperialism announced that it was withdrawing its troops from the West African country of Mali. With France's withdrawal, the deployment of the German Bundeswehr, which is officially deployed in Mali with 1100 soldiers, is also in question. Even before France's decision to withdraw its troops, the German mission in Mali was increasingly on the line, because what has become clear is that this war cannot be won. The pretext of wanting to ensure stability in the region turned out to be more and more clearly a lie. With the two military coups in 2020 and 2021 at the latest, it has once again become clear that Mali is not a country in which the bourgeoisie succeeds in creating something like stability. In recent years, resistance, that is, what is usually called terror in the bourgeois media, has multiplied. Over the years, attacks on reactionary forces increased and doubled several times. In 2019, the average was two attacks per day perpetrated on imperialist forces.
With the withdrawal of France, which had the most forces on the ground, a military problem now arises for the FRG. For, as Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht openly said, German troops are exposed to great danger by the withdrawal of France. In an interview with the Tagesschau, she said:
"We will definitely have to intensively review our commitment now, because the capabilities that France provided, they were also important for our soldiers, especially in terms of security and if that is missing now, then it has to be compensated and we will have to work on this issue now in the coming days and weeks if we decide to continue to be engaged there, on the ground."
Mandate extension in the East and off the coast of Africa
Even if German imperialism withdraws its troops from Mali, the FRG has by no means disappeared militarily from the African continent. The Bundeswehr also has official missions in South Sudan, Somalia, Western Sahara and off the coast of North Africa in the Mediterranean. In the shadow of the discussion about the mission in Mali, the German government is now planning to extend the missions in South Sudan and in the Mediterranean. Participation in the UN mission UNMISS in South Sudan and in the NATO mission "Sea Guardian" in the Mediterranean is to be continued for one year each. The Federal Cabinet has already approved the extension. In January, the German government extended the mandate of the German Armed Forces' mission in Iraq. South Sudan and the Mediterranean are the second and third missions to be extended by the new government in its still short term of office.
Bundeswehr missions in Africa
The plan of German imperialism to take on more "international responsibility", which means to further expand the influence of German imperialism, is thus vigorously pursued by the Ampel government. In the struggle of the imperialists, the FRG has made its aim clear. The FRG wants to become an imperialist superpower. This means more war, oppression and misery for the peoples of the world. So the FRG is also fighting for its place in the sun in Africa in good old Bismarck fashion.
