UN ends mission in Mali after a decade
The United Nations has officially ended its deployment mission in West African country Mali after 10 years.
The UN stabilization mission known as The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), had for the past decade, deployed over 15,000 personnel including 10,116 contingent troops, 3,384 civilians, 1,575 police, 502 staff officers, and 202 volunteers in the country.
A post by MINUSMA on their official page on December 11 announced the end of the mission.
“Official ceremony on 11/12 in Bamako to announce the end of the mission. An opportunity to look back on 10 years in the service of peace in #Mali, with the diplomatic corps, the United Nations family, and the authorities🇲🇱. Withdrawal to be completed by 31/12,” the post said.
MINUSMA lowered the U.N. flag on its headquarters in the capital Bamako as part of the official closing ceremony.
In an earlier release dated December 8, 2023, the MINUSMA UN Missions indicated that it closed its camp in Sevare, Mopti region, marking the end of its presence in the central regions of Mali.
This followed the closure of other bases in Ogossagou and Doutentza, with the last batch of personnel, both civilian and military leaving the camp on December 8, 2023.
As of Friday, more than 10,500 uniformed and civilian MINUSMA personnel had left Mali, out of a total of around 13,800 staff at the start of the withdrawal, the UN mission said on X, formerly Twitter.
“By the end of December 2023, the remaining MINUSMA personnel will leave Mali, completing the Mission's drawdown as mandated by the Security Council at the request of the Malian authorities. The liquidation phase will begin from 1 January 2024,” parts of the statement said.
The MINUSMA was established in April 2013 to support political processes in the country and to carry out some security-related tasks.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was established by Security Council Resolution 2100.
Meanwhile, there have been concerns about the re-emergence of fights among factions in the country over territory.
