In Mali, the decision by the UN Security Council to withdraw the international peacekeeping mission has met with approval. As a result, the government can take care of security in the country itself again, according to Foreign Minister Diop.
Mali’s military government has welcomed the decision to end the international peacekeeping mission from the West African country. This decision puts the government in a position to take care of Mali’s security itself, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said on state television. He had previously declared the blue helmet operation a failure and called for the soldiers to withdraw.
The blue helmets have not met the country’s expectations in terms of the security situation, he stressed. The Malian authorities would regulate the withdrawal by the end of the year, it said.
Diop said responsibility for Mali’s security is now “in the hands of the Malians.” However, Diop did not rule out working with “other partners”. The junta maintains close contacts with Russia and is said to have hired up to 2,000 fighters from the Wagner mercenary group.
Mission since 2013
The mission to stabilize Mali was launched in 2013 after Islamist terrorists overran the north of the country following the collapse of neighboring Libya and a rebellion by nomadic Tuareg in 2012.
A military intervention by the former colonial power France pushed the Islamists back only temporarily. Recently, the relationship between the states involved in the UN mission and the junta had deteriorated further. The military seized power in two coups in 2020 and 2021. The junta maintains close ties with Russia. France therefore ended its military operation in the country.
The UN Security Council decided yesterday to end the MINUSMA mission in the West African country at the end of the year after a transitional period of six months. In mid-June, Mali’s military government demanded the withdrawal of all around 12,000 UN peacekeepers.
Bundeswehr prepared for withdrawal
The Bundeswehr is involved in the mission in the Sahel state with around 1,100 soldiers in the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma. Your deduction, which was previously planned for the end of May 2024, is now brought forward somewhat by the decision.
“The Bundeswehr is prepared for this, especially since the relocation has been prepared for weeks and is already underway,” Högl told the editorial network Germany (RND). The SPD politician added that a new mandate from the Bundestag is unlikely to be necessary, “since the mandate already provides for flexible handling”.