African-led International Support Mission to Mali

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The African -led international support mission in Mali (in English African-led International Support Mission to Mali , AFISMA for short or in French Mission Internationale de soutien au Mali sous conduite africaine , MISMA for short ) was a military mission led by the West African Economic Community ECOWAS to support the Government of ECOWAS member Mali against Islamist rebels in the context of the conflict that has been ruling in northern Mali since 2012 .

The mission was legitimized by Resolution 2085 of the United Nations Security Council , which was passed on December 20, 2012 and which foresaw the deployment of an African-led international support mission to Mali for an initial period of one year. The resolution authorized the mission of the West African community of states to take “all necessary means” to help the Mali government to recapture the north from the hands of “terrorist, extremist and armed groups”. When the resolution was passed, combat operations were not expected to begin before September 2013.

AFISMA was replaced on July 1, 2013 by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali , MINUSMA for short .

Participation of the ECOWAS states

As a result of the unexpected rebel advance and the subsequent French intervention at the beginning of January 2013, the President of ECOWAS, Alassane Ouattara , announced on January 11, 2013 that, in accordance with UN resolution 2085, the planned deployment of the 3300 soldiers, to the Soldiers from Senegal , Nigeria , Niger , Burkina Faso , Ghana , Ivory Coast , Guinea , Togo and Benin were provided.

The African troop contingents were deployed from January 17, 2013 and were made up as follows:

Troop contributing nations of AFISMA
Sending country Workforce
BeninBenin Benin 650
Burkina FasoBurkina Faso Burkina Faso 500
Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast 500
GhanaGhana Ghana 120
Guinea-aGuinea Guinea 150
NigerNiger Niger 500
NigeriaNigeria Nigeria 1200
SenegalSenegal Senegal 500
TogoTogo Togo 540
ChadChad Chad 2,400
∑ 7 700

The contingent from Chad amounted to 550 soldiers on January 24, 2013 and grew to a strength of 2,400 soldiers by March 13. However, these troops were only placed under the command of AFISMA in March 2013. On January 28, 2013, it was also announced that Burundi and Uganda, which are not part of ECOWAS, are participating in AFISMA.

guide
Rank Surname nation function
Major general Shehu Abdulkadir NigeriaNigeria Nigeria commander
Brigadier General Yayé Garba NigerNiger Niger Deputy commander
Colonel Jean Paul Ntab SenegalSenegal Senegal chief of staff

financing

According to media reports, there were problems with the financing of the military operation. The West African Economic Community estimated the cost of the support mission at 375 million, almost twice as expensive as expected. The European Union pledged 50 million euros in financial support.

course

On January 15, 2013, the Nigerian government announced that it was increasing its troop contingent, which originally comprised 600 soldiers, by 300 members of the armed forces and that it would dispatch an advance command of 200 soldiers to Mali within the next 24 hours. On January 18, Nigeria increased its contingent of troops to be deployed by 300 more soldiers. 2000 soldiers from the ECOWAS countries are to be deployed by the end of January; in the long term, the mission is to include more than 3000 soldiers.

On January 16, an advance detachment of 40 Togolese soldiers arrived at the airport in Bamako. The next day, a first unit of 80 Nigerian soldiers was transferred to Mali.

A Nigerian Alpha Jet

On January 18, it was announced that the Nigerian Air Force was also deployed in Mali. On the same day two light Alpha Jet fighter-bombers moved to Niamey in Niger, where they will be stationed for the further course of the operation. A contingent of 66 crew members was ordered to Mali by means of a G222 . A C-130 transport aircraft continued its mission to air transport Nigerian army personnel and equipment to Mali. In addition, Mi-35 attack helicopters are planned to be relocated to Mali.

The Nigerian Major General Bola Koleoso reported to the AFP news agency on January 19 that two soldiers and five others were killed in a booby trap on a military convoy near Okene , Kogi state . The soldiers were to be relocated to Mali with the first 80-man AFISMA contingent of ECOWAS. Koleoso suspected the Islamist sect Boko Haram to be behind the attack.

On the night of January 18-19, 260 soldiers from Nigeria, Togo and Benin arrived.

On January 19, at a summit in Abidjan, the West African Economic Community called on the UN to provide immediate logistical and financial support for the deployment of West African troops in Mali.

On January 20, more than 250 Nigerians, 100 Togolese and 50 soldiers from Benin were in Bamako.

On the evening of January 21st, the troops increased to 830 soldiers from Nigeria, Togo and Benin.

On the evening of January 22nd, almost 1,600 soldiers were present in Mali and Niger. About 1,000 soldiers came from Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Benin. In addition, there are parts of the staff and more than 500 soldiers from Chad who deployed near Niamey, but who did not belong to the AFISMA contingent. The troops from Chad should first be assigned to French command structures.

On January 24th, the contingent of now 1,750 soldiers consisted of 200 Togolese, 150 soldiers from Niger, 150 soldiers from Burkina Faso, 85 soldiers from Benin, 50 Senegalese, 550 soldiers from Nigeria and 550 soldiers from Chad.

The MUJAO have blown a strategically important bridge to neighboring Niger near Gao . This is to stop a quick advance of AFISMA, which is preparing for its mission in Ouallam and is to open a second front against the MUJAO.

On the night of February 21, fighting broke out between the MUJAO and troops from Niger in Gao. Later, Malian troops are said to have intervened in the battle. Three Islamists are said to have been killed in the battle. Other sources report at least 16 Islamists killed. The battles took place in the city center, as well as on northern and southern arteries. The MUJAO occupied the town hall and the governor's residence for a short time. According to eyewitnesses, the courthouse was on fire.

Involvement of the Bundeswehr

On February 28, 2013, at the request of France, the German Bundestag mandated the provision of air transport capacities and air refueling for the French armed forces. For this purpose, a contingent with an Airbus A-310 MRTT and three C-160 Transall as well as the necessary support and ground personnel was provided. Air refueling for the French Dassault Mirage 2000 , Dassault Mirage F1 and Dassault Rafale fighter jets is carried out by the Airbus A-310 MRTT. The supply of material and food is taken over by the C-160 Transall.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UN Resolution 2085 (2012) of December 20, 2012. Accessed January 17, 2013.
  2. ↑ UN Security Council approves military mission in Mali - soldiers should support government in Bamako
  3. ↑ Mali - Transformation of AFISMA into MINUSMA (July 1, 2013)
  4. ↑ AFP: France pounds Islamist strongholds in Mali ( English ) Daily Nation. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ Mali conflict: West African troops to arrive 'in days' ( English ) BBC News. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  6. ↑ AP: A Look at What Countries Are Contributing to Mali ( English ) AP. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  7. ↑ First Nigerian troops to join anti-rebel operation in Mali ( English ) BBC News. January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ West African countries plan to mobilize 3,300 soldiers to fight against Islamist rebels in Mali. ( English ) Army Recognition. January 20, 2013. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  9. ↑ a b Mali: une force africaine qui pose question ( French ) le JDD. January 22, 2013. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved on January 23, 2013.
  10. ^ AFP: Les forces franco-maliennes entrent dans Tombouctou ( English ) Daily Nation. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  11. ↑ West African states will send 3,300 soldiers to Mali by Monday. The standard
  12. ↑ Mali: MISMA debuted its operations on Friday in Mali ( English ) World Wide Defense. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  13. ↑ Mali: troupes du Nigeria dans les 24h ( French ) BBC News. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  14. ↑ Malian Army recaptures Kona. Tagesschau , January 18, 2013, accessed on January 18, 2013 .
  15. ↑ a b Ecowas calls for logistical help in Mali. Zeit Online, January 19, 2013, accessed January 20, 2013 .
  16. ↑ a b Deployment to Mali: Two soldiers killed, five wounded in Kogi explosion. Codewit World News, January 19, 2013, accessed January 20, 2013 .
  17. ^ Nigerian Air Force Begins Deployment of War Planes to Mali Today. allAfrica.com, January 17, 2013, accessed January 19, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Nigeria: NAF Deploys F7 Supersonic, Alpha Jets to Mali. allAfrica.com, January 18, 2013, accessed January 19, 2013 .
  19. ^ Nigeria: Air Force Deploys Two Alpha Jets to Mali. allAfrica.com, January 19, 2013, accessed January 19, 2013 .
  20. ↑ Opération Serval: point de situation du 19 janvier 2013. French Ministry of Defense, 19 January 2013, accessed on 31 May 2020 .
  21. ↑ Mali: les troupes françaises progressent vers le nord. Liberation, January 20, 2013, accessed January 21, 2013 .
  22. ^ Opération Serval: point de situation du 20 janvier 2013. French Ministry of Defense, 20 January 2013, accessed on 31 May 2020 .
  23. ^ Opération Serval: point de situation du 21 janvier 2013. French Ministry of Defense, 21 January 2013, accessed on 31 May 2020 .
  24. ^ Opération Serval: point de situation du 22 janvier 2013. French Ministry of Defense, 22 January 2013, accessed on 31 May 2020 .
  25. ^ Opération Serval: point de situation du 24 janvier 2013. French Ministry of Defense, 24 January 2013, accessed on 31 May 2020 .
  26. ↑ oe24.at
  27. ↑ a b c Heavy fighting in Gao. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, February 21, 2013, accessed on February 23, 2013 .
  28. ↑ a b 16 Islamists die in bloody fighting over Gao. Spiegel Online, February 22, 2013, accessed February 23, 2013 .
  29. ↑ support mission of the armed forces in Mali (Ustg AFISMA). Bundeswehr, April 2, 2013, accessed on April 2, 2013 .
  30. ↑ Handed over German contingent in Dakar. Bundeswehr, March 28, 2013, accessed April 7, 2013 .
  31. ↑ In action over West Africa. Bundeswehr, March 26, 2013, accessed April 7, 2013 .