Mali asks Denmark to immediately withdraw troops deployed there

FILE PHOTO: A soldier from the new Takuba force stands with a Malian soldier during a patrol near Niger border in Dansongo Circle, Mali August 23, 2021. REUTERS/Paul Lorgerie/File Photo

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's government said on Monday it had asked Denmark to immediately withdraw troops deployed to the West African nation as part of a French-led counter-terrorism task force because it was not consulted and the deployment failed to follow protocol.

"The government of Mali notes with astonishment, the deployment on its territory of a contingent of Danish special forces within the Takuba force," the government said in a statement.