After a decade-long presence, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA (Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission), concluded its withdrawal on Sunday. Initiated in 2013 following an armed rebellion, the mission faced an unexpected turn as Mali’s ruling military government requested the departure of the UN peacekeepers.
With 310 peacekeepers losing their lives during its tenure, MINUSMA stands as the UN’s second deadliest mission globally, following the one in Lebanon. The decision for the withdrawal came in the summer, when Mali conveyed the necessity for the 12,000 peacemakers to exit. The UN Security Council subsequently voted to conclude the mission, with a deadline set for full withdrawal by December 31.
In the lead-up to the deadline, reports emerged that MINUSMA had relinquished control of one of its last major camps in the northern Timbuktu region, citing security concerns. Originally, Timbuktu, along with two other sites, was intended to remain operational after December 31 to manage the mission’s conclusion, but the UN expressed apprehensions about the potential militant presence.
El-Ghassim Wane, the head of the UN mission, acknowledged the challenges, stating, “there was a gap between what we were mandated to do and we were able to do”.
Mali’s security situation remains precarious, marked by the activities of armed groups. The country, along with Guinea, Niger, and Burkina Faso, finds itself suspended from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) due to military governments resulting from coups.
In September, a defence pact named the Alliance of Sahel States was established by Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, further distancing themselves from long-standing ties with France and strengthening connections with Russia as French forces completed their withdrawal from all three nations.
The UN mission’s inception a decade ago followed an alliance of separatist rebels and fighters occupying northern Mali in pursuit of a separate state. French troops and UN peacekeepers intervened, but the threat from militants persisted, leading to increased terror attacks and insurgency recruitment.
Mali, having experienced military coups in 2020 and 2021, grapples with a jihadist insurgency, making vast regions ungovernable. Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers and French troops, terror attacks surged, prompting France’s troop withdrawal last year.