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To fly from Copenhagen, Denmark to Bamako, Mali is about 5,000 km. So, why has Denmark sent troops to Mali? Is this called a foreign invasion?
No, not in the ongoing world of waging and fighting wars and flexing military muscle… which has been the way of the world since the beginning of “History of the World Part One.”
Denmark announced that it will pull out its forces in Mali after the military junta in control of the country spoke out publicly that these troops are not wanted there—a stinging rebuke from European leaders who have been colonists in the region for decades.
“We can see that the Malian transitional government, or the coup generals, last night sent out a public statement where they again reiterated that Denmark is not welcome in Mali, and we of course will not put up with that, so therefore we have decided to withdraw our soldiers home,” Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said at a press briefing in Copenhagen, last week.
France and other European countries urged the junta to allow special forces to stay in place.
Reuters reported that there has been friction between the junta and the European Union because there have been no countrywide elections since the coup. Copenhagen sent 105 military personnel to Bamako to join the counter-terrorism force in the Sahel called Takuba Task Force. France 24 reported that the task force was organized in March 2020 as a counter-terrorism operation.
Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, criticized the junta shortly after its call to Denmark to extricate the forces. Le Drian called the request an “irresponsible measure” from an “illegitimate” junta in the country.
“[This junta] bears full responsibility for the withdrawal of Danish forces and is further isolating itself from its international partners,” he said.
The New York Times reported that in the past 18 months, the African continent has experienced six coups in five countries, including Mali, Chad, Guinea, Sudan, and Burkina Faso.
The paper pointed out that the coup in Mali unfolded in August 2020, which was spurred by public anger after “a stolen parliamentary election and government’s failure to protect its people from violent extremists.” There were two coups in the country in the last nine months.
Col. Assimi Goita, who became president after the second coup, stirred outrage in Europe by announcing that the country would delay its next election until 2026.
The move resulted in sanctions being leveled by European leaders. Mali’s leaders say the elections cannot be held due to insecurity in the county.
TREND FORECAST: As we reported when the United States and France led the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the situation in Mali and the region has significantly worsened as a result of the U.S.-led destruction of the nation. (See “MALI: FRANCE WANTS ITS COLONY BACK,” “FRENCH AIR STRIKE IN MALI: MASS MURDER OF INNOCENTS” and “CHAD: MORE AFRICAN WAR DRUMS BEATING.”)
We have pointed out in previous issues that France has held a colonial-power relationship with Mali for 50 years in order to exploit its resources, particularly uranium.
This includes propping up government leaders who support the exploitation while opposing protesters in mining areas who are angered over environmental degradation and the outflow of resources to France. Paris has announced that it will also begin drawing down forces from Mali.
As economic conditions continue to deteriorate across the continent, civil wars will spread to regional war and the colonial powers of the past will again intervene in the name of bringing “Freedom and Democracy” to the war ravaged nations.
Also, as civil unrest escalates, so too will the migrant crisis as more people flee poverty, government corruption, crime and violence in their war ravaged nations. This in turn will intensify anti-immigration populist movements in safe-haven nations they are escaping to.