Denmark starts pulling troops out of Mali - foreign minister

FILE PHOTO: Denmark's Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod speaks during a news conference as the country is to temporarily close its embassy in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, and evacuate the employees, in Copenhagen, Denmark, August 13, 2021. Ritzau Scanpix/Nils Meilvang via REUTERS

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark will start pulling its troops out of Mali, after the African country's transitional junta government this week insisted on an immediate withdrawal, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on Thursday.

"We can see that the Malian transitional government, or the coup generals, last night sent out a public statement where they again reiterated that Denmark is not welcome in Mali, and we of course will not put up with that, so therefore we have decided to withdraw our soldiers home," Kofod told journalist at a press briefing in Copenhagen.