Authorities in the West African country of Mali have refused to allow a Bundeswehr aircraft to fly over. The A400M aircraft, with about 80 soldiers on board, was diverted to Gran Canaria, a spokesman for the Operations Command told the AFP news agency Wednesday.
According to the Bundeswehr, the aircraft had taken off from the Wunstorf air base in Lower Saxony and set course for the Niamey air base in Niger. The Bundeswehr maintains a logistical hub there for operations in the Sahel region.
The overflight had previously been authorized, according to the spokesman. The reasons for the denied authorization “are currently under investigation,” he added. Malian authorities had most recently restricted flight movements by the international military mission Minusma stationed in the country, in which Germany is also involved.
A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Office said on Monday that Mali had banned numerous flights by Minusma, including drone flights, since last Thursday. Around a thousand Bundeswehr soldiers are deployed with Minusma in Mali.
Relations between the international community and the military rulers in Mali have been tense for months, a situation that intensified after the military junta canceled elections scheduled for February. The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has therefore imposed sanctions against the Malian government, which is expressly supported by France, for example.
Mali, for its part, responded with border closures and flight bans, apparently in other areas as well. The political situation in the Sahel state has been characterized by severe instability since 2012, in many cases caused by jihadist-motivated violence. Germany is deployed in Mali with the Bundeswehr as part of EU and UN missions and has a total of more than 1,300 soldiers stationed in the country.
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Authorities in the West African country of Mali have refused to allow a Bundeswehr aircraft to fly over. The A400M aircraft, with about 80 soldiers on board, was diverted to Gran Canaria, a spokesman for the Operations Command told the AFP news agency Wednesday.
According to the Bundeswehr, the aircraft had taken off from the Wunstorf air base in Lower Saxony and set course for the Niamey air base in Niger. The Bundeswehr maintains a logistical hub there for operations in the Sahel region.
The overflight had previously been authorized, according to the spokesman. The reasons for the denied authorization “are currently under investigation,” he added. Malian authorities had most recently restricted flight movements by the international military mission Minusma stationed in the country, in which Germany is also involved.
A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Office said on Monday that Mali had banned numerous flights by Minusma, including drone flights, since last Thursday. Around a thousand Bundeswehr soldiers are deployed with Minusma in Mali.
Relations between the international community and the military rulers in Mali have been tense for months, a situation that intensified after the military junta canceled elections scheduled for February. The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has therefore imposed sanctions against the Malian government, which is expressly supported by France, for example.
Mali, for its part, responded with border closures and flight bans, apparently in other areas as well. The political situation in the Sahel state has been characterized by severe instability since 2012, in many cases caused by jihadist-motivated violence. Germany is deployed in Mali with the Bundeswehr as part of EU and UN missions and has a total of more than 1,300 soldiers stationed in the country.