Forging ahead to stabilise Mali Photo: picture-alliance/dpa

At the international donor conference held on 29 January in Addis Ababa Germany pledged a wide range of assistance. This includes a contribution to the United Nations Trust Fund for AFISMA, the African-led International Support Mission to Mali, and the Malian armed forces totalling 20 million US dollars. 15 million US dollars are to go to the United Nations Trust Fund,  while the remaining 5 million US dollars are earmarked for equipment. To this must be added Germany’s share of other EU and UN contributions.

"Germany accepts its responsibility," declared Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in Berlin. We will be providing financial, logistical and humanitarian support for activities to liberate Mali, as well as delivering equipment and training support for the Malian army.

Conflict in Mali
At the start of 2013, Islamist groups, which had already taken control of a large part of northern Mali, began moving further south. In response to a request of Mali’s government, France decided to intervene. On 18 January AFISMA (the African-led International Support Mission for Mali) was also launched.

Assistance from the European Union

The EU foreign ministers decided on 17 January 2013 to set up a training mission (EUTM Mali). It is to train Malian soldiers and should be up and running by mid-February at the latest.

The EU training mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) is not to be involved in combat activities. Mali and the African forces are to be enabled to press ahead and stabilise the country independently. Germany too will be providing instructors for the European mission.

Germany supports the West African community

Germany is also transporting troops of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) to Mali. To this end, the German government has made available three Transall transport aircraft.

Since 19 January, two German air force Transall C-160D aircraft have already been deployed. A French military base in Dakar, Senegal is being used as their base. A third Transall aircraft was sent to Dakar on 29 January. It is to be used as a reserve craft. It is also planned to establish an air transport centre in Dakar which will be a technical and logistical base.

The German government is looking at other possible support options. In the very near future, about 50 flak jackets are to be delivered to Mali.

Thanks to all soldiers

During the Franco-German celebrations in the German Bundestag on 22 January to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Treaty the Chancellor said that, "Security must be protected, even beyond our own borders". She pointed out that Germany supports France in Mali. "We would like to thank our troops, the French and the German soldiers who are deployed at this moment, and we hope that they will return home safely," said the Chancellor.

Humanitarian aid

On 16 January, the German government provided another one million euros for humanitarian aid. Since the end of 2011, Germany has now pledged a total of 13.65 million euros for aid measures in Mali. The sum is being used to finance the activities of the following organisations, to give but a few examples: UNHCR, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Food Programme, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and German non-governmental organisations.

The international intervention is based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 2085 (2012) adopted on 20 December 2012. This resolution approves an international African-led support mission for Mali). The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) was also mandated to restore Mali’s territorial integrity. The resolution calls on all states to support this.

In Resolution 2071 (2012) adopted on 12 October 2012 the Security Council had also pledged support for planning an international military mission. It also called on regional and international partners to help improve the capabilities of Mali’s armed forces.