Bamako has announced the suspension of all troop rotations which is an integral part of the UN Mission in the country.
Are the days of the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) numbered?
After the decision of the Malian authorities on Thursday, July 14, 2022, this possibility can no longer be ruled out.
A statement from the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced the immediate suspension of all rotations of the military and police contingents under MINUSMA.
This measure concerns both the rotations already scheduled and those that have been announced.
To justify its decision,the Malian government cited a “coordination meeting between the competent Malian bodies and the MINUSMA” to regulate the rotations of the UN Mission. The objective is to achieve “efficient management of the rotation of military and police contingents deployed in Mali on behalf of the UN force.”
This decision comes after the July 10 arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers at Bamako airport.
They are accused by the Malian government of being “mercenaries whose purpose is to break the momentum of rebuilding Mali.”
To this end, they will be placed at the disposal of the courts for possible prosecution.
The Ivorian authorities reacted by demanding for their immediate release.
Under the chairmanship of President Alassane Ouattara, the National Security Council (CNS) met on July 12 and maintained that the soldiers in question are “regulars in the Ivorian army and were in Mali as part of the operations of the National Support Elements (NSEs), a support mechanism for peacekeeping missions known to the Malian authorities.”
Beyond this feud, some observers see, through this new decision by the transitional authorities, which is likely to affect mainly West African countries whose contingents have been blocked in Mali since February 2022 because of Bamako’s reprisals for the economic and financial sanctions finally lifted by ECOWAS on July 3, a real desire to put an end to the UN mission in Mali, whose mandate was renewed for an additional year on June 29 by the Security Council.
The new resolution voted by thirteen out of fifteen countries contains a paragraph urging Malian authorities to guarantee MINUSMA’s freedom of movement when investigating human rights violations.
A few days before the resolution was considered, Mali’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop, warned that nothing would ever be the same again.
“For Mali, it is essential that the mandate be focused on the protection of civilians and support for the establishment of state authority throughout its territory,” said the head of Mali’s diplomacy, inviting MINUSMA officials to “take into account the growing strength of the (Malian) defense and security forces, which are now on the front lines against jihadist groups.
At the same time, he reiterated Mali’s opposition to Barkhane’s intervention in the name of the UN Mission.
AC/te/fss/as/APA