The Federal Republic of Germany will temporarily suspend the deployment of the Bundeswehr in Mali. The military government of the West African country had previously imposed a flight ban. As a result, the aircraft of the Luftwaffe cannot carry out any overflights.

The armed forces of Germany have been deployed in Mali for several years as part of the UN mission Minusma. It is the largest foreign activity of the Bundeswehr. France had already withdrawn from Mali a few weeks ago because it was unable to continue with the mission.

The military government of Mali does not seem to be happy about foreign armed forces or the UN mission. For the Bundeswehr, the denial of overflight rights means that the rotation of personnel cannot be carried out. As a rule, Airbus A400M transport aircraft were always used for this purpose.

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has now declared that "the operations of our reconnaissance forces and the transport flights" will be temporarily suspended. However, one does not want to speak of a complete withdrawal from Mali and emphasizes that the flights in particular could be reactivated at a later date. It remains to be seen whether that will happen.