July 2 () –
The European Union has welcomed this Saturday the renewal of the mandate for one year of the United Nations mission in Mali, MINUSMA, but has regretted the lack of cooperation from the country’s authorities, right now under a military coup, contrary to the presence of Western forces.
“The European Union regrets that Mali has made it known that it opposes the freedom of movement of MINUSMA in the exercise of its mandate in the field of human rights,” Brussels said in a statement.
The Western community suspects strong ties between the Malian junta and the Wagner group of Russian mercenaries, linking them to the Kremlin and pointing them out as participants in abuses against the civilian population.
In this regard, the EU recalls that “MINUSMA’s capabilities in terms of investigations and evidence collection are a crucial asset and contribute to the population’s trust in State services”, even more so “in a context of exponential increase of the human rights violations and abuses in recent months.
“The EU urges the State of Mali to act in accordance with the mandate of MINUSMA and to carry out effective investigations into any allegations of human rights violations, whoever the alleged perpetrator, as well as to carry out an effective prosecution”, ends the note.
The approval of an extension of MINUSMA comes after France and its allies announced in February the withdrawal of the troops deployed in the framework of Operation Barkhane and the Takuba Force, sent to Mali to help Bamako in the fight against jihadism , in the face of tensions with the military junta in the West African country.
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