German lawmakers have voted for a German military mission in Mali, with 375 in favor, 263 against and one abstention, according to Reuters.
The vote comes as Berlin aims to end its decade-long military mission in Mali by May 2024. The mission has been hampered by disputes with Mali's military government and the presence of Russian-backed forces.
Berlin has deployed around 1,000 troops to Mali, mainly near the northern town of Gao, where their main mission is to gather information for the UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA.
A German soldier from the MINUSMA force in the town of Gao, Mali.
MINUSMA was established in 2013 to support foreign and local troops against Islamist militants, but in recent months there have been several instances of tension between the Malian government and MINUSMA.
MINUSMA has about 12,000 troops deployed in Mali. The three largest troop-contributing countries to MINUSMA are Chad, Bangladesh and Egypt.
Relations between Europe and Mali have deteriorated since the 2020 coup and since the government invited mercenaries from the Russian private military company Wagner to help fight the rebels, according to Reuters.
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