Denmark announced on Thursday it will start pulling its troops out of Mali after the West African country's ruling junta insisted on an immediate withdrawal, dealing a blow to France's attempts to coax European allies into shouldering some of the burden of fighting jihadists in the region.
The decision comes amid tension between Mali and its international partners, including regional bodies and the European Union that have sanctioned Mali after the junta failed to organise elections following two military coups.
Tensions have also escalated over allegations that transitional authorities have deployed private military contractors from the Russia-backed Wagner Group to Mali, which some EU countries have said was incompatible with their mission.
"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," Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told reporters on Thursday. "So therefore we have decided to withdraw our soldiers home."
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