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Germany has suspended most of its military operations in Mali, after authorities in Bamako withheld a flight clearance, the German Ministry of Defence announced yesterday.
Berlin has around 1,000 troops deployed in Mali, most of them near the northern town of Gao, where their main task is to gather information for the UN peacekeeping mission, Minusma.
The suspension stands until further notice, and is a way for the German authorities to denounce a refusal by the Malian authorities to authorize a flight scheduled yesterday that would have provided a rotation of personnel.
In early August, Mali had already withdrawn clearances for German flights over the country but later reversed that decision. END