European nations pushed back Wednesday against the Malian military government's demands that newly arrived Danish special forces fighting jihadists immediately withdraw from the Sahel state.
Task Force Takuba brings together special forces from European countries to advise Malian troops and assist them in combat, with roughly 90 Danes joining earlier this month.
A statement from nations involved in the French-led Task Force Takuba on Wednesday defended the deployment, saying the partners were acting "within a robust legal framework agreed upon by Mali's sovereign government, including a formal invitation from the Malian authorities to international partners."
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod on Tuesday had said his nation's forces were in Mali "on a clear basis" and his government was seeking to clarify the issue.Mali's junta, which came to power in a 2020 coup, responded late Wednesday it had read Kofod's "inappropriate" comments with "surprise and consternation".