Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
02-07-2023
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council ended a decade-old peacekeeping mission in Mali after the ruling military demanded the withdrawal of the international force battling an armed rebellion “without delay”.
The end of the operation, known as MINUSMA, follows years of tensions and government restrictions that have hobbled peacekeeping air and ground operations since Mali teamed up with Russia’s Wagner mercenary group in 2021.
The 15-member council on Friday adopted a French-drafted resolution asking the mission to begin on Saturday “the cessation of its operations, transfer of its tasks, as well as the orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal of its personnel, with the objective of completing this process by December 31, 2023”.
UN peacekeepers are credited with playing a vital role in protecting civilians against an armed rebellion that has killed thousands.
Some experts have feared the security situation could worsen when the mission departs, leaving Mali’s underequipped army alone with about 1,000 Wagner fighters to combat fighters who control swaths of territory in the desert north and centre.
The Security Council resolution authorized MINUSMA to “within its immediate vicinity” respond to imminent threats of violence to civilians and contribute to the safe, civilian-led delivery of humanitarian assistance until September 30.
It asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to work with the Malian authorities on a plan to transfer MINUSMA’s tasks and present it to the Security Council by August 15. It called on Mali to cooperate fully with the UN during MINUSMA’s withdrawal.
When asking for MINUSMA to leave, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told the Security Council earlier this month there was a “crisis of confidence” between the UN operation and the Malian authorities.
Until December 31, MINUSMA is also authorized to provide security for UN personnel, facilities, convoys, installations and equipment and associated personnel, and execute operations to extract UN personnel and humanitarian workers in danger and provide medical evacuations. (Int’l News Desk)
