BERLIN, March 7 (DPA/EP) –

A German Armed Forces patrol integrated into the United Nations Multidimensional Unified Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was attacked Tuesday in the city of Gao, located in the north of the country, an incident which resulted in no casualties.

A spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry has indicated in a statement to the German news agency DPA that two shells hit the vehicle the patrol was traveling in and detailed that shots were fired from about 150 meters away.

Likewise, it has been indicated that after the incident the soldiers stopped the mission they were doing and returned to their camp, with no one claiming responsibility for the incident in the interim.

Germany has more than 1,100 troops deployed in Mali as part of MINUSMA, at a time of tension between the mission and the military junta that spanned since the August 2020 coup, followed by a second coup in May 2021.

As such, Bamako has repeatedly denied flying permits for military aircraft and Heron reconnaissance drones, which are operated by German forces, while the presence of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to support Mali’s security operations has drawn criticism from various western countries.

For all these reasons, German authorities announced in November 2022 that they would end military deployments in Mali by May 2024, thus following in the footsteps of the UK and France despite the fact that the Sahel region is experiencing increased jihadist activity. group.