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Reuters
BERLIN — German forces resumed flights to Mali on Thursday.Berlin has halted most of its operations in the West African country and has clashed with local authorities over flight permits.
Berlin is about It has deployed 1,000 troops to Mali, most of them near the northern town of Gao whose main task is to gather reconnaissance for the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA.
"At 5:47 a.m., a private contractor's plane took off from Cologne for Mali on behalf of the Bundeswehr," the German military said on Twitter, adding that the plane carried about 90 troops. He added that it took him to a country in West Africa.
Germany suspended a military reconnaissance mission on Friday after local authorities repeatedly withheld flight permits.
MINUSMA was established in 2013 to support foreign and local forces fighting Islamic extremism, but tensions between Malian authorities and the mission have continued in recent months. ing.
Berlin's participation in MINUSMA was controversial in Germany for some time as the West African nation deepened Soviet-era ties with Russia.
Fighters from the Wagner Group, a private military company with ties to the Kremlin, have been helping Malian forces fight Islamist militants since late last year.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Editing by Rachel More, Editing by Alison Williams)
