The United Nations has embarked on what its Secretary-General, António Guterres, describes as an “unprecedented withdrawal” of peacekeeping forces from Mali, lasting for six months.
This withdrawal follows orders from Mali’s military council, which is situated in the West African nation. The council had enlisted mercenaries from the Russian “Wagner” group to aid in combating Islamic insurgency, according to the Associated Press.
In a presentation to the Security Council on Monday, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Mali, El-Ghassim Wane, detailed the scale of the operation.
The UN will also end the service of 1,786 civilian staff by the deadline set for December 31st of this year.
Mali’s ambassador to the UN, Issa Konfourou, mentioned that the government is cooperating with the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA. However, they will not extend the deadline.
Wane also mentioned that the United Nations needs to transport nearly 5,500 maritime containers containing equipment and 4,000 vehicles belonging to both the UN and contributing countries involved in the mission, which aims to achieve stability in Mali—the fourth-largest United Nations peacekeeping operation.
The withdrawal process has begun and will continue during the “liquidation phase,” starting on January 1st, and lasting for 18 months. The UN will maintain police personnel in three centers: Bamako, Gao, and Timbuktu.
Mali has been experiencing turmoil since the military coup in 2012, followed by the establishment of an ISIS branch in the north two months later. An operation led by France managed to defeat the extremist rebels and remove them from power in the north.
However, they relocated to central Mali, the most densely populated area, in 2015, where they continue to be active.
