The withdrawal of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (Minusma) has registered “significant progress” and is “on track” to end on December 31, but it has encountered several difficulties, official sources advanced on Monday.
In a meeting of the United Nations (UN) Security Council focused on the progress of the withdrawal from Mali, the leader of the mission, El-Ghassim Wane, explained that the first phase of the withdrawal plan was marked by several challenges, such as the presence of terrorist groups or even weather issues, and foresaw a second “extremely difficult phase”.
As an example, Wane described the experience of the closure of the Ber camp, in which the last convoy of peacekeepers, equipment and materials took 51 hours to travel the 57-kilometre route to reach the city of Timbuktu.
“This was due to the unfavorable nature of the terrain – a situation aggravated by the rainy season – and insecurity. This convoy was attacked twice by unidentified extremist elements, injuring four ‘blue helmets’ and damaging three vehicles before reaching Timbuktu.”, he said.
Ber’s withdrawal also proved to be politically difficult, as the Malian authorities and the signatory movements of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali did not agree on the fate of the camp after the departure of MINUSMA, it added.
In addition, convoys carrying supplies and equipment from Minusma bases at Gundam and Ogossagou were also attacked with improvised explosive devices, while the last convoy from Gao to Ménaka was also attacked by extremist elements.
With the end of the first phase of withdrawal, 1,096 uniformed people and 79 containers of materials transferred out of Mali were repatriated, according to UN data.
A further reduction in uniformed personnel is expected at the end of September. Regarding civilian personnel, 291 civilian employees (including UN volunteers), or approximately 33% of MINUSMA’s civilian workforce, will be separated by September 30.
The second phase of the process -already started- will last until December 15. It will focus on the closure of six bases (Tessalit, Aguelhok and Kidal in the north, Douentza and Mopti in the center and Ansongo in the east).
According to the Minusma leader, this phase “will be extremely difficult”, mainly due to the hundreds of kilometers of difficult terrain that the mission convoys will have to cover and the “omnipresent insecurity”.
“This withdrawal occurs in a context marked by the paralysis of the monitoring structures of the Peace Agreement, which have not met since November last year, and by a serious lack of trust between the parties. It is not surprising that the parties have adopted divergent measures, positions on the fate of the fields that the mission will liberate,” the UN representative also pointed out.
Speaking to the diplomatic corps present at the meeting, Wane said he believed challenges would persist due to the tight schedule of mission reductions, “which made it impossible to anticipate an adequate transition period.”
“In this context, it is important to recognize that some tasks cannot be transferred effectively,” he stressed.
The coup in neighboring Niger “also affects” the “withdrawal plan, which is based on the use of the transit zones of Cotonou and Lomé,” and therefore requires passage through Niger, Wane said.
Also at the meeting, Mali’s ambassador to the UN, Issa Konfourou, said he was open “to dialogue to peacefully resolve specific issues that may arise.”
“But I would like to remind you that the Government of Mali has no intention of extending the departure period beyond the date of December 31, 2023,” the diplomat stressed.
Since 2012, Mali has been facing a deep security crisis that began in the north and spread to the center of the country, as well as neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.
Minusma, who has been in the African country for 10 years, began to leave his posts after the Malian transitional government, led by a military junta, called for his “immediate” withdrawal in June, a request that was subsequently approved by the Security Council. . .from the ONU.
Source: TSF
