Germany split over military engagement in Sahel

Germany yesterday reaffirmed its wish to assume more military responsibility in the troubled Sahel region, despite deep divisions over the issue in Angela Merkel’s government. “The stability of the Sahel region is an essential factor for our security in Europe and we view the worsening security situation there with concern,” said Chancellor Merkel’s spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer at a news conference. “The Chancellor has stated several times that Germany wants to and must assume more responsibility there.” The issue of German military involvement in the African region has strained tensions within Merkel’s government in recent days, and rekindled debate over Germany’s longstanding culture of pacifism since the Second World War. On Sunday, defence minister and leader of Merkel’s conservative CDU party Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer called for a wider mandate for the 1,450 German forces stationed in Mali, who are currently limited to training and surveillance missions. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper, Kramp-Karrenbauer pointed out that French forces had “a much more robust mandate” in countries like Mali. Her comments prompted a furious response from socialdemocratic junior coalition partners SPD. “We will not accept a redefinition of German foreign policy by the defence ministry,” the SPD’s newly elected, left-leaning co-leader Saskia Eskens told the FAZ. Yet despite Kramp-Karrenbauer’s call for greater military involvement, it also emerged this weekend that Germany had refused French requests to increase its presence in the Sahel. In a confidential parliamentary communication seen by AFP, the government confirmed that it had refused two requests from France to join a so-called Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF).