Côte d’Ivoire has announced the gradual withdrawal of its troops from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali by August 2023, a decision that comes against the backdrop of diplomatic tensions between Abidjan and Bamako for several months.
“By order of the government of Côte d’Ivoire, the Permanent Mission confirms the gradual withdrawal of Ivorian military and police personnel deployed within the Minusma”, explains a letter from the Permanent Mission of Côte d’Ivoire to the UN. , accessed Tuesday.
No succession in August 2023
“The relief of the protection company based in Mopti as well as the deployment of staff officers and police officers planned respectively for October and November 2022 can no longer be carried out”, continues the text.
The Ivorian army did not confirm on Tuesday whether these shifts had indeed already been interrupted. Côte d’Ivoire also indicates that the soldiers and other elements present within the Minusma will not be relieved in August 2023.
Tight relationships
No official reason is given for this withdrawal, but relations between Côte d’Ivoire and Mali have become considerably strained in recent months, particularly after the arrest last July of 49 Ivorian soldiers in Bamako.
After three releases, 46 of them are still detained in Mali. Bamako accuses them of being mercenaries while Abidjan assures that they had to participate in the security of the German contingent of Blue Helmets in Mali.
Several mediations are underway to obtain their release. In early October, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara assured that things were progressing “well”.
The withdrawal from London and Cairo
This Ivorian announcement comes the day after that of Great Britain, which has indicated that it wants to withdraw its contingent “sooner than expected”. London notably mentioned the rapprochement of the junta in power since 2020 with the paramilitary group Wagner, reputed to be close to the Moscow regime.
Nearly 300 British soldiers have been present in Mali since the end of 2020 as part of the deployment of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country launched in 2013 (Minusma), aimed in particular at stabilizing the security situation in the country.
Egypt had announced in mid-July the suspension of the participation of its 1,035 soldiers within the Minusma which has more than 12,000 soldiers and 1,700 police officers.
Recurring jihadist attacks
Mali has been confronted since 2012 with recurrent jihadist attacks and plunged into a deep security and political crisis. A landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel, it was the scene of two military coups in August 2020 and May 2021, and is led by Colonel Assimi Goïta.
After pushing the former French ally out in early 2022, the junta orally attacked Minusma several times, whose mandate was renewed in June for one year. Mali had on this occasion expressed a “firm opposition” to the freedom of movement of blue helmets for investigations into possible violations of human rights.
Actors in the region are due to meet next week in Ghana to coordinate their response to instability in the Sahel.