Denmark closes embassies in Mali and Burkina Faso

Denmark will close its embassies in Mali and Burkina Faso, citing a series of military coups that "severely limited the scope for action in the Sahel region", its Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The two countries, followed by Niger, last year ended their military and security co-operation with European countries, who had been helping them tackle armed groups in the Sahel. Instead, they turned to Russia and its Wagner mercenaries, further straining relations with their western allies.

Mali has been ruled by a military junta since 2020 and has been battling ethnic Tuareg rebels in the north with help from Russia's Wagner. The Swedish ambassador was ordered to leave the country in August, after a Swedish minister criticised Malian support for Russia. In Burkina Faso a military government took over by coup in 2022.

"One of the most important foreign policy questions of this century will be whether African countries will orient themselves more towards the East or the West," the Danish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"We have a clear interest in African countries looking to us in Europe to set the course for their future. We must demonstrate that we offer an attractive alternative to the increasing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent."

The move will be met with the opening of new embassies in Tunisia, Senegal and Rwanda, as part of Denmark's new engagement strategy in Africa. Diplomatic staff at the embassies in Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana will be bolstered.

Tunisia was an "important partner for Denmark", as the springboard for the majority of migrants crossing the central Mediterranean from the African continent to EU territory. Tunisia also bore the "potential for an expanded partnership" with Denmark on the green transition.