MINUSMA - The African Mirror

Jan

2024

UN peacekeeping mission in Mali completes its withdrawal

THE U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, is poised to complete its withdrawal from the country, the United Nations said in a statement. Security experts warn the area could now become the focus of a struggle in the north as rebel groups and the army seek to take areas that the U.N. has left, further destabilising Mali, where Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State also roam. Violence in Mali has spiked since June when the military junta which took power in a 2021 coup ordered the U.N.'s decade-old peacekeeping mission to leave. The U.N. said only a small team will…

Nov

2023

By EDWARD MCALLISTER, DAVID LEWIS and MICHELLE NICHOLS

UN retreat from Mali in disarray as violence surges

NEWS

BEFORE United Nations peacekeepers hurriedly abandoned their base in Kidal in northern Mali, they made a costly call: with insurgents stationed nearby, they destroyed sensitive equipment to avoid it falling into the wrong hands, the U.N. said. Shortly after the last U.N. convoy rolled out, the ethnic Tuareg rebels announced they had taken over the base. Photos posted on social media on Wednesday appeared to show locals loading trucks with looted goods, including tyres, cables and chairs. Mali's ruling military junta in June ordered the decade-old UN mission, known as MINUSMA, to leave as its relations soured with former international allies. MINUSMA has…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Analysis: Mali faces spectre of anarchy after demanding UN’s departure

NEWS

EDWARD MCALLISTER and DAVID LEWIS MALI'S demand for the departure of U.N. peacekeepers heralded a sudden end to a decade-long mission that has struggled to protect civilians and its own troops, raising fears the country could slide deeper into chaos amid an Islamist insurgency and the possible revival of a separatist uprising. The U.N. mission, known as MINUSMA, has been hobbled by restrictions on its air and ground operations since Mali's ruling junta joined forces with Russian military contractor Wagner Group in 2021, limiting its effectiveness against an Islamist insurgency that took root a decade ago and has since spread across…

Jun

2023

By MICHELLE NICHOLS

Mali asks United Nations to withdraw peacekeeping force

NEWS

MALI'S interim military authorities asked for a United Nations peacekeeping force to leave "without delay", citing a "crisis of confidence" between Malian authorities and the decade-long U.N. mission known as MINUSMA. It marks a major turning point for the West African country, which has struggled to stem an Islamist insurgency that took root following an uprising in 2012. MINUSMA was deployed by the U.N. Security Council in 2013 to support foreign and local efforts to restore stability. Frustrations over the growing insecurity spurred two coups in 2020 and 2021 and the ruling junta has been increasingly at loggerheads with MINUSMA…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

U.N. peacekeepers deployed to northeastern Mali amid spate of killings

NEWS

PAUL LORGERIE THE United Nations peacekeeping force in Mali has deployed two units to the African country's tri-border area with Burkina Faso and Niger to respond to a spate of civilian killings, it said. A surge in attacks since early March by an Islamic State affiliate has left hundreds of civilians dead, according to official and military sources. The region has long been a hotspot of jihadist and militia violence in West Africa. "The security situation in the Tri-border area... particularly in the localities of Tessit, Talataye, Ansongo and the Menaka region, has deteriorated considerably in recent weeks," said the…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

No justice for victims of 2020 Mali protests, coup

NEWS

ALISON KENTISH IT has been about a year since anti-government demonstrations and a coup in Mali, which saw 18 people, including a 12-year-old boy being killed. But there has been no justice for the families of those injured and killed by defence and security forces during last year’s May to August protests. Amnesty International released the findings of a report into injuries and fatalities that occurred titled “Killed, wounded, and forgotten? Accountability for the killings during demonstrations and the coup in Mali”. Following field and remote interviews with victims’ families, civil society representatives, journalists and members of the judiciary, it…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

U.N. says four peacekeepers killed in north Mali attack

NEWS

FOUR peacekeepers were killed and several others injured in an attack on the United Nation’s base in the northern town of Aguelhok, the UN has announced. Peacekeepers repelled the attack, carried out by several "heavily armed terrorists", a U.N. mission statement said, adding that a number of attackers were killed. Islamist insurgents are active in northern Mali. "A provisional toll shows four peacekeepers dead and wounded. Helicopters were dispatched to the scene to evacuate the wounded," the statement said. The U.N. mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, has deployed over 13,000 troops to contain violence by armed groups in the…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

20 U.N. peacekeepers injured in Mali

NEWS

TWENTY United Nations peacekeepers were injured, including several seriously, in central Mali yesterday when their base came under fire, a U.N. mission spokesman said. The base near the town of Douentza was attacked, a spokesman for the MINUSMA mission, Olivier Salgado, told Reuters. He did not say who was responsible. Islamist militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic States regularly attack U.N. peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in the area. "The MINUSMA chief firmly condemns the attack and has ordered that all measures be taken to treat the wounded," Salgado said. Deployed since 2013, the U.N. currently has over 14,000…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Four U.N. peacekeepers killed in Mmali

NEWS

FOUR United Nations peacekeepers were killed and five wounded in central Mali after a convoy struck an explosive device and came under fire, the U.N. said. It was not clear who carried out the attack about 20 km (12 miles) north of the town of Bambara-Maoudé in the Timbuktu region. Islamist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State operate in the region and have made much of the West African country ungovernable. The U.N. mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, said in a statement on Wednesday that three peacekeepers had been killed and six wounded in the attack. A…