United Nations ends peacekeeping mission in Mali

Africa, News July 3, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to end its decade-long peacekeeping mission in Mali after the ruling military government demanded a complete withdrawal of international military forces. More than 15,000 personnel would withdraw from Mali by the end of this year.

The 15 members of the UN Security Council adopted the French-drafted resolution that terminated the mandate of the peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali). The vote came after Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop called the MINUSMA mission a failure and urged its end.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting last month, Abdoulaye Diop said that there was a “crisis of confidence” between the UN mission and the Malian authorities.

“The government of Mali calls for the withdrawal without delay of MINUSMA,” Foreign Minister Diop told the Security Council. Following his speech, MINUSMA head El Ghassim Wane said that it was “nearly impossible” to maintain the mission without the host country’s consent.

Mali’s relations with the United Nations have been deteriorating since 2020 after the country’s government was overthrown by a military coup. Mali’s military regime also severed its defense cooperation with France, the former colonial power.

*^{Peacekeepers from the Nigerien contingent of MINUSMA providing security in eastern Mali. (Image Credit: MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko)}*

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for the “full cooperation of the transitional Government for an orderly and safe withdrawal of the mission’s personnel and assets in the coming months,” the UN chief’s deputy spokesperson said. The UN secretary general also urged all parties “to continue honoring the ceasefire as MINUSMA withdraws”.

US blames Russia’s Wagner Group

Since 2021, Mali’s military administration has grown closer to the Russian mercenary force, the Wagner Group, and acquired its services to make up for its shortage of military forces to deal with security issues.

Washington has accused the leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, of helping engineer the departure of UN peacekeepers from Mali.

White House spokesperson John Kirby indicated that Mali’s authorities have paid more than $200 million to Wagner since late 2021. “We know that senior Malian officials worked directly with Prigozhin employees to inform the U.N. secretary-general that Mali had revoked consent for the MINUSMA mission,” Kirby told reports during a press briefing.

International reaction

The U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN Jeffrey DeLaurentis and UK’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward expressed regret at the military government’s decision to abandon the UN mission. DeLaurentis said that “some domestic actors” in Mali are calling for harassment of peacekeepers and urged the mission to ensure the safe and orderly transfer of UN facilities and equipment to UN-designated places.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on the ongoing situation stating that the move has “renewed his country’s unstinting support towards Mali in the military-technical field as well as for humanitarian and economic assistance”.

^{U.N. peacekeepers carry the coffins of the three United Nations soldiers who were killed by an explosive device during a ceremony at the MINUSMA base in Bamako, Mali, on September 27, 2017. (Image Credit: Reuters/Moustapha Diallo)}

Mali is Africa’s most volatile country that relied heavily upon UN peacekeeping missions to contain insurgency. Islamist insurgents have killed thousands while capturing a large area in the northern part of Mali. Political instability and lack of democratic leadership have made the situation even worse in recent times.

The decade-long insurgency in the country has affected millions of Malian residents while deteriorating the country’s poverty situation even further. The French military was also present in Mali for a long time playing an important role in fighting the insurgents and keeping the situation under control. Being a former French colony and a francophone country of 20 million people, Mali’s previous government had close ties with France in Europe, however, the relations deteriorated after the military coup in 2020.