John Irish, Ardee Napolitano

BREST, France (Reuters] -Sweden will pull troops out of a European special forces force mission to the Sahel and it will reconsider its participation in a U.N. force fighting Mali’s presence.

Ann Linde, Foreign Minister (NYSE:), criticized Mali’s military junta’s attempts to expand its power and hire Russian mercenaries.

Ann Linde stated that they had made an agreement to withdraw Takuba’s force this year. She spoke out on Friday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in western France.

She said that the question was “What do we do about Minusma?” referring to U.N. peacekeeping force in Mali.

The Swedish Parliament approved Takuba’s deployment up to 150 troops in 2020. It also has 250 military personnel under Minusma which lasts until 2024.

Jean-Yves Le Drian from France, the Foreign Minister of France said that Sweden’s withdrawal in March from Takuba was in accordance with Stockholm’s commitments. He also stated that it had nothing do with the arrival or political condition in the country.

According to a French military source, Sweden always intended to withdraw its troops two years after the mandate was over. This claim is backed up by a French military source who said that it had done so since March. Sources said that Swedish officers would continue to be part of the mission.

Takuba was set up as a partial replacement to a French counterterrorism unit in West African Sahel. The French president Emmanuel Macron began to trim the force from its original 5,000 strong strength.

The group includes 14 European countries that provide logistical, tactical, and special forces support for regional troops in targeted attacks against Islamist militants.

RUSSIAN MERCENARIES

The military-led interim government in Mali, which seeks to prolong its mandate by five years, accuses Paris of abandoning them. Mali contracted private military contractors with the Russian Wagner Group to provide security. The majority of their members were ex-service personnel.

France and its allies claimed that Mali’s Wagner Group usage was inconsistent with their military presence.

The Russian mercenaries arrived in Mali to add tensions, amid the Ukraine border crisis.

French officials said Paris will meet with partners to discuss how it can respond to Wagner’s entry in Mali.

Takuba operates mainly in West Africa.

Linde stated that Wagner’s confirmed arrival and the attempts of the junta to remain in power was unacceptable.

“We know now (there is) the Wagner group… If they have a stronger effect then it won’t be possible to continue those large quantities of troops from us,” she stated, noting that Sweden’s operation in Mali would be discussed by the Swedish parliament next week.

It will undoubtedly have consequences.

Josep Borrell, EU’s foreign policy chief, said that the European Union would impose sanctions against Mali to match the ECOWAS-led West African countries over Mali’s failure to hold elections after the coup in 2020.