UN mission in Mali completes decade-long deployment

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Jan 2024 00:06

Mali has been plagued by violence, spilling into Burkina Faso and Niger, and exacerbating ethnic tensions, due to the failure on the part of Western powers to deliver promises of assisting the African countries with the eradication of terrorism.

U.N. MINUSMA troops from Bangladesh hoist down the U.N flag for the last time at a departure ceremony held in Bamako, Mali, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023 (AP)

On Sunday, the UN mission concluded its decade-long deployment in Mali, complying with the agreed-upon December 31 deadline following the order from Mali's military leaders to depart the crisis-ridden country.

The United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA), which has been operational since 2013, has completed its withdrawal, raising concerns that clashes between military forces and armed factions may escalate.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Sunday that the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) has successfully completed its agreed withdrawal by December 31, 2023.

Guterres commended the mission's crucial role in safeguarding civilians and aiding the peace process in Mali, which faces challenges from terrorism and other crises.

He acknowledged MINUSMA's contributions to upholding the ceasefire within the framework of the 2015 peace and reconciliation agreement between Bamako and northern rebel groups, as well as its endeavors to reinstate state authority.

Mali's ruling junta, in power since 2020, issued a demand in June for the departure of MINUSMA, which had deployed around 15,000 soldiers and police in the country for the past decade.

Numerous MINUSMA members have lost their lives, with hundreds killed in hostile circumstances, often attributed to armed groups associated with Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres paid tribute to the "311 MINUSMA personnel who lost their lives and the more than 700 who were injured in the cause of peace".

Starting on January 1, a "liquidation phase" will commence, involving activities like transferring equipment to local authorities and maintaining smaller teams at sites in Gao and Bamako.

Mali has been plagued by violence, spilling into Burkina Faso and Niger, and exacerbating ethnic tensions, due to the failure on the part of Western powers to deliver promises of assisting the African countries with the eradication of terrorism.

Not only this resulted in numerous casualties among civilians and fighters, with millions displaced as a consequence, but was also the precursor for a wave of revolts across the African continent, aimed at ousting the presence of Western military troops.