2023-08-28 18:53:23
A delicate operation. The second phase of the withdrawal of peacekeepers from Mali which is beginning will be “extremely difficult” due to the “tight schedule” and the security and logistical conditions, said Monday the head of the UN mission in the country, El Ghassim Wane. .
Following a request from the Malian junta that took everyone by surprise, the UN Security Council put an immediate end on June 30 to the peacekeeping mission in Mali (Minusma), providing for the withdrawal of its approximately 13,000 military and police personnel by December 31, 2023. A withdrawal with an unprecedented schedule and complexity.
The coup in Niger has an impact on the evacuation of peacekeepers
To date, 1,096 blue helmets had been repatriated to their respective countries. But the UN is experiencing difficulties in dismantling camps given the insecurity and transport conditions. A convoy of Blue Helmets thus took “51 hours to cover 57 kilometers”. The coup d’etat in neighboring Niger “also has an impact on our withdrawal plan which is based on the use of the transit zones of Cotonou and Lomé”, and therefore requires going through Niger, noted the boss of the assignment.
On the political level, “the mission continues to encourage the parties to reach an agreement to avoid unnecessary incidents, the consequences of which could be considerable”, insisted its leader. This withdrawal comes in a context of “paralysis” of the 2015 peace agreement, and while some Minusma camps, which must be handed over to the Malian authorities, are coveted by the former rebellion.
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