The Burkinabe Prime Minister hails the “courageous decision” of the Malian authorities before the UN Security Council
June 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Albert Ouédraogo, asked the United Nations this Sunday to withdraw the troops from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), as requested by the Malian authorities before the Security Council .
“The Government of Burkina Faso takes note of the request for the ‘withdrawal without delay’ of MINUSMA and welcomes this courageous decision made by the Malian transitional authorities,” reads a statement from the Burkinabe Prime Minister, in which they invite the international community to “strictly respect the decisions made by Mali”.
Ouédraogo also took the opportunity to congratulate Bamako “for this election, which is in line with the strategic vision of the State of Mali in the fight against terrorism and for the restoration of peace and security in the Sahel”.
Likewise, the head of the Government of Burkian Faso has encouraged the Malian authorities and people “in this affirmation of the sovereignty of the State” and the “expression of the will” of the citizens “to be the sole owners of their destiny.
“(Ouagadougou) reaffirms its solidarity with the Government of Mali and all the peoples of the Sahel in the fight against terrorism and remains faithful to the ideal of building, with full independence and full responsibility, a world of peace, security and shared development for all the Sahelians”, has settled.
Mali’s Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, demanded this Friday before the UN Security Council the “withdrawal without delay” of the mission, led by El Ghassim Wane, considering that MINUSMA “seems to become part of the problem by fuel community tensions exacerbated by accusations that are extremely serious and are highly detrimental to peace, reconciliation and national cohesion”.
Diop has also rejected all initiatives by United Nations Secretary General António Guterres to reform MINUSMA’s mandate in an attempt to ease tensions with Bamako, which in February ousted the director of the mission’s Human Rights office, Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Anda, for “destabilizing and subversive” activities.
After Diop’s statements, the UN Security Council has stressed that the presence of the mission is “essential” to maintain stability in the region, where it has highlighted the “endless violence against the civilian population unleashed by the Islamic State in northeast Mali”.
The country’s relations with the mission have also been affected by a UN report on the massacre of more than 500 people in March 2022 in the city of Moura (center), which pointed to the Army as the main culprit. The Government “vigorously” rejected the report, and assured that the images obtained by satellite by the investigators constitute a crime of “espionage.”
The leader of the Malian military junta, Assimi Goita, had already focused on MINUSMA in recent months, demanding greater collaboration with the Army when carrying out its operations. The mission has deployed ‘blue helmets’ in the country since 2013, although relations have deteriorated as a result of the Goita-led coups in August 2020 and May 2021 and the postponements by the junta at the time to set an electoral calendar for a democratic transition.
