UN Says French Pullout from Mali Will 'Impact' Peacekeepers
2 years, 10 months ago

UN Says French Pullout from Mali Will 'Impact' Peacekeepers

News 18  

(AFrance’s planned military withdrawal from Mali is “bound to impact” the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the troubled Sahel state, the United Nations said on Thursday. Olivier Salgado, the spokesman for the MINUSMA peacekeeping mission in Mali, told AFP that the UN was studying the impact of the pullout and would “take the necessary steps to adapt.” Mali has been struggling to contain a brutal jihadist insurgency that first emerged in 2012, before spreading to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. Salgado told AFP that “there is bound to be an impact” on its operation in light of the planned French withdrawal, citing a “specific and complementary role” played by UN peacekeepers and French forces in Mali. French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that he was withdrawing troops from Mali after a breakdown in relations with the nation’s ruling military junta.

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History of this topic

UN to complete Mali mission withdrawal by mid-November
1 month, 2 weeks ago

UN to complete Mali mission withdrawal by mid-November

Firstpost  

United Nations had previously maintained around 15,000 soldiers and police in the fragile and poor West African nation, which is in the grip of jihadist violence and other crises Attendees, including one holding a board representing the Interim president of Mali and Junta leader, gather while holding Mali national flags during Mali’s Independence Day Celebrations and a march against United …

Mali’s military rulers scrap peace deal with separatist rebels
10 months, 4 weeks ago

Mali’s military rulers scrap peace deal with separatist rebels

Al Jazeera  

Military leaders say Algiers Accord cancelled with ‘immediate effect’ due to signatories not upholding commitments. Mali’s military rulers have announced the cancellation of a 2015 peace deal with separatist rebels after months of fighting in the West African nation. Military authorities said late on Thursday that the so-called Algiers Accord had ended with “immediate effect” due to other signatories not …

France completes military withdrawal from Niger, leaving a gap in the terror fight in the Sahel
1 year ago

France completes military withdrawal from Niger, leaving a gap in the terror fight in the Sahel

Associated Press  

ABUJA, Nigeria — France on Friday completed the withdrawal of its troops after they were asked to leave Niger by the country’s new junta, ending years of on-the-ground military support and raising concerns from analysts about a gap in the fight against jihadi violence across the Sahel region of Africa. France already announced this week that it would close its …

The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali ends after 10 years, following the junta’s pressure to go
1 year ago

The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali ends after 10 years, following the junta’s pressure to go

Associated Press  

BAMAKO, Mali — The United Nations ended its 10-year peacekeeping mission in Mali on Monday following the government’s request that alleged the force was inadequate to respond to growing violent extremism in the West African nation. In June, however, Mali’s junta asked the U.N. mission to leave, claiming that its “future outlook doesn’t seem to respond to the security needs” …

UN peacekeeping mission in Mali officially ends after 10 years
1 year ago

UN peacekeeping mission in Mali officially ends after 10 years

Al Jazeera  

In June, Mali’s military government, which seized power in 2020, demanded the departure of the decade-old mission. The mission, known as the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, lowered the UN flag in its headquarters in the capital Bamako, its spokesperson Fatoumata Kaba told the AFP news agency on Monday. A decade of MINUSMA In June, Mali’s military government, …

United Nations bemoans struggles to fund peacekeeping as nations demand withdrawal of missions
1 year ago

United Nations bemoans struggles to fund peacekeeping as nations demand withdrawal of missions

Associated Press  

ACCRA, Ghana — The United Nations’ top peacekeeping official defended the organization’s missions worldwide as concerns grow that they’ve gone into retreat as African leaders demand their withdrawal from Mali to Congo. Though Lacroix lamented how the peacekeeping budget was a mere 0.3% of global military spending, he also noted that it provides a good return on investment as peacekeepers …

United Nations bemoans struggles to fund peacekeeping as nations demand withdrawal of missions
1 year ago

United Nations bemoans struggles to fund peacekeeping as nations demand withdrawal of missions

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The United Nations' top peacekeeping …

UN peacekeepers have departed a rebel stronghold in northern Mali early as violence increases
1 year, 1 month ago

UN peacekeepers have departed a rebel stronghold in northern Mali early as violence increases

Associated Press  

BAMAKO, Mali — United Nations peacekeepers on Tuesday withdrew from a rebel stronghold in northern Mali weeks earlier than planned because of growing insecurity, leaving the town in the hands of ethnic Tuareg separatists. “The peacekeepers’ convoy that left Kidal this morning was the victim of two improvised explosive device attacks,” Myriam Dessables, head of communications for the U.N. mission …

U.N. peacekeepers in Mali withdraw from two bases in the north as fighting intensifies
1 year, 2 months ago

U.N. peacekeepers in Mali withdraw from two bases in the north as fighting intensifies

Associated Press  

BAMAKO, Mali — United Nations peacekeepers started departing from two bases in northern Mali Monday as part of a forced withdrawal from the country amid increasing insecurity and a rise in attacks by Islamic extremists. Earlier this year, Mali’s military junta ordered the U.N. mission to leave the country, which has struggled to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012. …

French troops are starting to withdraw from Niger and junta leaders give UN head 72 hours to leave
1 year, 2 months ago

French troops are starting to withdraw from Niger and junta leaders give UN head 72 hours to leave

Associated Press  

COTONOU, Benin — French troops have started leaving Niger more than two months after mutinous soldiers toppled the African country’s democratically elected president, the military said Wednesday. The military rulers had wanted Niger’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Bakary Yaou Sangare, who was made foreign minister after the coup, to speak on its behalf at the General Assembly. However, …

Can Mali win its battle for stability?
1 year, 4 months ago

Can Mali win its battle for stability?

Al Jazeera  

UN speeds up the withdrawal of its peacekeepers from Mali as new conflict breaks out. The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali says the deteriorating security situation is forcing it to speed up its withdrawal from the country. A week ago, six UN troops and dozens of fighters from an armed group were killed in confrontations near the northern city of …

Analysis: What’s next for Mali after MINUSMA withdrawal?
1 year, 5 months ago

Analysis: What’s next for Mali after MINUSMA withdrawal?

Al Jazeera  

The UN peacekeeping mission is set to fully exit the West African country by December 31. “The government of Mali calls for the withdrawal without delay of MINUSMA,” Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop had said in June, stressing that Bamako “is willing to cooperate with the United Nations on this issue”. MINUSMA, or the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission, “has …

UN votes to end its peacekeeping mission in Mali as demanded by the country’s military junta
1 year, 5 months ago

UN votes to end its peacekeeping mission in Mali as demanded by the country’s military junta

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to immediately end its peacekeeping mission in Mali as demanded by the country’s military junta, which has brought in mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group to help fight an Islamic insurgency. Kirby also claimed that “Prighozin helped engineer” the speedy departure of U.N. peacekeepers “to further Wagner’s interests.” “We know that …

UN Security Council ends peacekeeping mission in Mali
1 year, 5 months ago

UN Security Council ends peacekeeping mission in Mali

Al Jazeera  

Members vote unanimously to immediately wind down the mission despite fears by Western powers of new instability in the troubled nation. The UN Security Council ended a decade-old peacekeeping mission in Mali after the ruling military demanded the withdrawal of the international force battling an armed rebellion “without delay”. The Security Council resolution authorised MINUSMA to – “within its immediate …

Germany to speed up Mali withdrawal as UN mission ends
1 year, 5 months ago

Germany to speed up Mali withdrawal as UN mission ends

Al Jazeera  

Berlin had deployed some 1,000 soldiers to Mali as part of the MINUSMA peacekeeping operation against armed groups there. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said the country is looking to pull its soldiers out of Mali faster, though still in an ordered manner, in light of the planned end of a United Nations peacekeeping mission on June 30. The …

‘Fatal blow’: Mali rebels warn against UN peacekeepers departure
1 year, 6 months ago

‘Fatal blow’: Mali rebels warn against UN peacekeepers departure

Al Jazeera  

A coalition of Malian rebels has warned that the departure of MINUSMA, the peacekeeping force, could hurt a peace deal. The departure of a United Nations peacekeeping mission from Mali will strike a “fatal blow” to a peace accord and threaten stability across the region, a coalition of armed groups in the country’s north warned on Wednesday. Mali’s military government …

Mali’s top diplomat demands UN peacekeepers leave the country after more than 10 years
1 year, 6 months ago

Mali’s top diplomat demands UN peacekeepers leave the country after more than 10 years

Associated Press  

BAMAKO, Mali — Mali’s top diplomat demanded Friday that U.N. peacekeepers who have been in this West African country grappling with an Islamic insurgency for more than a decade leave immediately, claiming they had failed in their mission. He said the mission has not “been able to adequately respond to the security situation in Mali” and that its “future outlook …

Mali asks UN to withdraw its peacekeeping mission ‘without delay’
1 year, 6 months ago

Mali asks UN to withdraw its peacekeeping mission ‘without delay’

Al Jazeera  

Mali has called on the United Nations to withdraw its peacekeeping mission from the country “without delay,” denouncing its “failure” to respond to security challenges. El Ghassim Wane, the head of the UN mission in Mali, said after the meeting of the 15-member council that conducting UN peacekeeping operations was “nearly impossible” without the consent of the host country. There …

One UN peacekeeper dead, four others injured in north Mali attack
1 year, 6 months ago

One UN peacekeeper dead, four others injured in north Mali attack

Al Jazeera  

More than 300 of the peacekeepers in MINUSMA have also been killed since the start of the Mali mission in 2013. At least one United Nations peacekeeper was killed and four others seriously injured when their patrol was attacked in northern Mali on Friday, the peacekeeping mission MINUSMA said. MINUSMA – the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali …

Mali protesters demand exit of UN peacekeeping mission
1 year, 6 months ago

Mali protesters demand exit of UN peacekeeping mission

Al Jazeera  

Thousands demonstrate in Bamako, demanding an end to a peacekeeping mission they say has failed to bring peace. Several thousand demonstrators gathered in the country’s capital of Bamako on Thursday, demanding an end to a United Nations peacekeeping mission that they say has failed to bring peace. But in recent months, there have been repeated instances of friction between the …

US to Mali: End restrictions on UN peacekeepers, seek peace
1 year, 8 months ago

US to Mali: End restrictions on UN peacekeepers, seek peace

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The United States warned Mali’s military government Wednesday that it would be “irresponsible” for the United Nations to continue deploying its more than 15,000 peacekeepers unless the western African nation ends restrictions including on operating reconnaissance drones and carries out political commitments toward peace and elections in March 2024. The United States is also “greatly concerned” that …

Germany to wind down Mali military mission by mid-2024
2 years, 1 month ago

Germany to wind down Mali military mission by mid-2024

Associated Press  

BERLIN — The German government said Tuesday that it plans to wind down the country’s participation in a U.N. military mission in Mali by the middle of 2024. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said in a brief statement that the government will propose to parliament granting a final one-year extension to the mission in Mali in May “to allow …

Germany to withdraw troops from UN Mali mission by May 2024
2 years, 1 month ago

Germany to withdraw troops from UN Mali mission by May 2024

Al Jazeera  

Germany becomes latest country to pull its troops from UN Mali mission after facing difficulties in recent months. Germany will withdraw its troops from the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali by May 2024, a government spokesman has said, becoming the latest country to announce its pullout from the rebellion-hit country. There have been growing tensions between the UN mission …

Ivory Coast to withdraw from UN peacekeeping force in Mali
2 years, 1 month ago

Ivory Coast to withdraw from UN peacekeeping force in Mali

Al Jazeera  

Ivory Coast is embroiled in a diplomatic dispute with Mali over the continued detention of 46 of its soldiers since July. Ivory Coast will be gradually withdrawing its military contingent from the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali after the continued detention of 46 Ivorian soldiers who have been accused of being mercenaries. In the letter to the UN, Ivory …

UK withdrawing troops from Mali peacekeeping mission
2 years, 1 month ago

UK withdrawing troops from Mali peacekeeping mission

Associated Press  

LONDON — Britain announced Monday it is withdrawing its peacekeepers from Mali, saying the West African country’s growing reliance on Russian mercenaries is undermining stability. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said the 300-strong British force that has been stationed in Mali since 2020 as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission will leave earlier than planned. “Two coups in three …

At UN, Mali army-appointed PM slams France, praises Russia ties
2 years, 3 months ago

At UN, Mali army-appointed PM slams France, praises Russia ties

Al Jazeera  

Abdoulaye Maiga lashes out at the former colonial ruler, the UN as he praised the ‘exemplary’ cooperation with Russia. Mali’s military-appointed prime minister has lashed out at France and the United Nations in a grievance-filled address over his nation’s deteriorating security situation while praising the “exemplary” cooperation with Russia. Addressing the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on Saturday, …

French military: Last group of soldiers has left Mali
2 years, 4 months ago

French military: Last group of soldiers has left Mali

Associated Press  

NICE, France — The last French army unit left Mali on Monday, according to a statement from the French military, nine years after Paris sent troops to the West African country to help drive Islamic extremists from power. France’s armed forces completed their withdrawal from Mali six months after French President Emmanuel Macron announced his plan to pull out of …

Two UN peacekeepers dead, 5 others wounded in Mali attack
2 years, 5 months ago

Two UN peacekeepers dead, 5 others wounded in Mali attack

Al Jazeera  

Malian rebels, some with links to al-Qaeda and ISIL, have gained momentum despite the presence of foreign troops and United Nations peacekeepers. Two United Nations peacekeepers were killed and five others severely wounded by an improvised explosive device in northern Mali, the UN peacekeeping mission said. The incident took place between the village of Tessalit and the city of Gao …

Russia-West tensions inflame UN debate on Mali peacekeepers
2 years, 6 months ago

Russia-West tensions inflame UN debate on Mali peacekeepers

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — Tensions between Russia and the West are aggravating talks about the future of one of the United Nations’ biggest and most perilous peacekeeping operations, the force sent to help Mali resist a decade-long Islamic extremist insurgency. In Mali, Human Rights Watch has accused Russian fighters and Mali’s army of killing hundreds of mostly civilian men in the …

UN: Mali pullout from counterterrorism force `unfortunate’
2 years, 7 months ago

UN: Mali pullout from counterterrorism force `unfortunate’

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.’s top political official for Africa called Mali’s decision to withdraw from the Sahel regional counterterrorism force “unfortunate and regrettable” Wednesday, especially at a time of increasing terrorist activity and insecurity. Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told the U.N. Security Council that this week’s decision by Mali’s ruling junta to leave the force “is most certainly a …

UN, Niger lament Mali’s withdrawal from G5 Sahel force
2 years, 7 months ago

UN, Niger lament Mali’s withdrawal from G5 Sahel force

Al Jazeera  

The decision to abandon the multinational effort may further isolate Bamako on the regional and global stage. The United Nations’ top political official for Africa has bemoaned Mali’s decision to withdraw from a multinational military force in West Africa’s Sahel region, calling the move “unfortunate and regrettable”. Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told a meeting of the UN’s Security Council on …

Mali government pulls military out of regional G5 Sahel force
2 years, 7 months ago

Mali government pulls military out of regional G5 Sahel force

Al Jazeera  

Since 2012, armed groups have sought to unseat the democratically elected government, which has been overthrown twice in two years by the military. Mali is pulling out of a multinational military force in West Africa’s Sahel region combatting an armed rebellion, the country’s military government has said. The G5 Sahel force, which includes troops from Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and …

How Mali’s military fell out with its French ally
2 years, 7 months ago

How Mali’s military fell out with its French ally

Al Jazeera  

French forces are pulling out of Mali after a breakdown in relations with the country’s military government. Now, French forces are pulling out after a breakdown with the country’s military government which this week renounced Mali’s core military agreements with France. The disagreement accelerated in 2021 as Mali’s military wove closer ties with Moscow, bringing in “military instructors” that France …

What to make of the French exit from Mali?
2 years, 9 months ago

What to make of the French exit from Mali?

Al Jazeera  

On February 17, France and its European allies announced that they will begin withdrawing their troops from Mali after nearly 10 years. In response, France first suspended its joint military operations with Malian forces and then announced its decision to “draw down” its counterinsurgency campaign in Mali, known as Operation Barkhane. Barkane’s failure and the trouble with foreign military interventions …

Uncertainty looms in Mali as France announces troop pullout
2 years, 10 months ago

Uncertainty looms in Mali as France announces troop pullout

Associated Press  

BAMAKO, Mali — France’s announcement Thursday that it will withdraw its troops from Mali was anticipated by many in this West African nation where Malians have protested the presence of soldiers from the former colonial power. He told The Associated Press he heard with regret French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement Thursday that France will withdraw its military from Mali within …

France to pull troops from Mali after decade-long jihadist fight
2 years, 10 months ago

France to pull troops from Mali after decade-long jihadist fight

The Hindu  

France announced on Thursday that it would withdraw its troops from Mali over a breakdown in relations with the country's ruling junta, after nearly 10 years of fighting a jihadist insurgency that still poses a major threat to the West African nation and beyond. Mr. Macron warned that Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group had made the Sahel and the …

France, European allies announce military withdrawal from Mali
2 years, 10 months ago

France, European allies announce military withdrawal from Mali

Al Jazeera  

French President Emmanuel Macron denies that the almost decade-long military deployment led by his country has ended in failure. A statement signed by France and its African and European allies and published on Thursday said that “multiple obstructions” by the ruling military government meant that the conditions were no longer in place to operate in Mali. “The political, operational and …

Macron expected to announce French withdrawal from Mali
2 years, 10 months ago

Macron expected to announce French withdrawal from Mali

Al Jazeera  

Withdrawal would mark a major strategic shift by France, which has had troops in Mali for nine years. The pullout from Mali, with a redeployment of forces to other countries in the region, amounts to a major strategic shift by France, ending a nine-year mission that successive French presidents had argued was crucial for regional and European security. “If the …

Mali and France, a timeline of mounting tensions
2 years, 10 months ago

Mali and France, a timeline of mounting tensions

Al Jazeera  

As the standoff between Bamako and Paris continues, here’s a timeline of key recent events. On June 10, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a major “transformation” and drawdown of France’s military presence in the Sahel where about 5,100 soldiers – across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – operate under its Barkhane operation. Later that day, Mali’s Foreign Minister …

French forces leave Mali’s Timbuktu after nearly nine years
3 years ago

French forces leave Mali’s Timbuktu after nearly nine years

Al Jazeera  

French army says ‘will be present in a different way’ as former colonial power draws down its military presence in Mali. French forces have left the city of Timbuktu, the latest sign the former colonial power is scaling down its presence in northern Mali nearly nine years after a military intervention that helped push back fighters that have overrun parts …

UN: 4 UN peacekeepers, 23 attackers killed in Mali
3 years, 8 months ago

UN: 4 UN peacekeepers, 23 attackers killed in Mali

India TV News  

A fierce attack on a UN peacekeeping base in Northern Mali last week killed four peacekeepers and at least 23 attackers, and injured another 34 peacekeepers, the United Nations said Monday in an updated report. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric reiterated Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' salute on Friday to the bravery of Chadian peacekeepers who defended their camp in Aguelhok in the …

Challenges ahead as UN set to extend ‘most dangerous’ mission
4 years, 5 months ago

Challenges ahead as UN set to extend ‘most dangerous’ mission

Al Jazeera  

The seven-year-old MINUSMA operating in Mali has faced an array of issues as insecurity in the Sahel grows. Often dubbed the UN’s most “dangerous mission”, MINUSMA will enter its eighth year at the centre of a multilayered and complicated conflict that has spread across the Sahel, a semi-arid region directly south of the Sahara desert in northwestern and central Africa. …

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