Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop stated over the weekend that the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from northern Mali would proceed as scheduled, on December 31, despite the UN’s apprehensions.
On Saturday, the UN expressed concerns that its planned drawdown could face obstacles due to an escalation of conflicts in the north, where competing armed groups are vying to claim territory as the UN withdraws, and the potential influx of Malian troops into the region.
The UN also indicated that the ruling junta had not granted the necessary permits for them to dispatch convoys to recover their equipment from their bases in the region.
The withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA by the end of 2023 is a component of an ongoing security reconfiguration initiated by the military junta that took control in 2020.
Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers have commenced their arrival in the northern region, according to local officials who informed media. They are to replace the UN soldiers whom the junta has instructed to depart.
“Everything must be done to ensure the work of MINUSMA is ended by December 31,” Diop said in a video posted on social media on Saturday evening.
“The government does not forsee any extension of this deadline,” he said in the recording of comments he made to a meeting of the diplomatic corps in the capital, Bamako.
The northern region has witnessed an intensification of clashes between predominantly Tuareg separatist factions and the Malian military.
The jihadist group Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, has increased its assaults on Malian army outposts.
Concerns have arisen that the violence could intensify following the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from their bases in Tessalit, Aguelhok, and the separatist stronghold of Kidal.
The separatist groups are in opposition to the handover of MINUSMA bases to the Malian military.
Diop acknowledged that he was aware of the UN’s request for permission to dispatch logistics convoys by land to retrieve equipment from their bases in the north and to carry out air operations to ensure the safety of the drawdown.
“We are working to find solutions,” he said.
