Oct. 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Mali’s Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, stated on Tuesday that the country’s military government would resort to legitimate defense in the event that France “continues to undermine” the sovereignty of its territory.
“The Government of Mali reserves the right to resort to legitimate defense, in accordance with article 51 of the United Nations Charter (…) if France continues to undermine Mali’s sovereignty, its territorial integrity and its national security” , Diop assured, according to a statement from the Malian diplomacy.
The head of the Malian Foreign Ministry made these statements in front of the French ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Rivière, at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council this Tuesday in which the quarterly report of the United Nations Secretary General was discussed. Nations on the situation in Mali.
In this sense, Diop has repeated his accusations that France violated its airspace and delivered weapons to Islamist soldiers, for which he has asked the United Nations to take action.
“It is surprising that the Secretary-General’s report silences Mali’s referral to the Security Council on August 15, 2022, in relation to destabilization attempts and repeated violations of airspace by French forces,” he said.
The head of the Malian Diplomacy has described these acts as “extremely serious aggression”, while recalling that they constitute a violation of the Charter of the United Nations and International Law.
“They should not be left without action, so the Government of Mali renews its request,” added the minister, while indicating that he will present concrete evidence of the crimes of which he accuses Paris. “There has to be a specific meeting of the Security Council to present concrete evidence of acts of duplicity, espionage and destabilization of France,” he requested.
Rivière, for his part, has indicated that Mali “is today at a crossroads” and that the UN mission in the country is “a mission in danger”. “The threat above all is security. Terrorist groups are expanding their reach and claiming more and more lives,” she lamented.
However, the permanent representative of France to the United Nations has celebrated “the first steps” in the African country, which reached an agreement with ECOWAS to establish the transitional government after the coup.
Both Diop and Rivière, on the other hand, have expressed their condolences during their speeches for the recent terrorist attack with an explosive device that claimed the lives of several ‘blue helmets’ of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). ) this Monday in the Kidal region, in northern Mali.
The explosion occurred during a mine-sweeping patrol in the Tessalit area. Since the UN mission began its deployment in Mali, these types of bombs have claimed the lives of more than 75 soldiers.
GUTERRES CONDEMNS THE “ATTACK” PERPETRATED IN MALI
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has strongly condemned the “attack” carried out with improvised explosive devices perpetrated on Monday against a MINUSMA patrol, claiming the lives of four people.
Guterres has sent his “sincere condolences” to the Government and people of Chad, since the four people killed were members of MINUSMA from Chad. In addition, he has expressed his sympathy to the families of the victims and wished a “full and speedy” recovery to the two peacekeepers who were injured in the attack.
“The secretary general recalls that attacks on United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law,” reads a statement issued by the spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Stéphane Dujarric.
Likewise, the Secretary General of Nations has asked the Malian authorities to do “everything possible” to identify the perpetrators of the attack so that they can be brought to justice.
During the day on Monday, two separate attacks with explosive devices were recorded in the Kidal region of Mali, killing four people and injuring two others.
“On October 17, a despicable attack with improvised explosive devices claimed the lives of three peacekeepers (…) Another soldier succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday,” MINUSMA said on its official Twitter profile.
Mali, like other countries in the Sahel, has registered in recent years a growing number of jihadist attacks carried out by both the Al Qaeda affiliate in the region and the Islamic State. These terrorist actions have in turn led to an increase in inter-community violence and caused the displacement of tens of thousands of people.
