Aug. 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Malian authorities have confirmed that the rotations of the military and police contingents of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) will resume this coming Monday after a month of suspension after the controversial arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers in the airport of the capital, Bamako.
The military junta that governs Mali reacted to this presence of the Ivorian military by suspending the rotations of the UN mission, amid strong tensions between the Malian military and international peacekeepers.
Now, both the MINUSMA spokesperson, Myriam Dessables, and the Malian Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, have confirmed the resumption of activities following a new procedure by which the Malian Government will be aware of even the slightest movement of the forces.
“MINUSMA”, declared the minister, “has accepted the new procedures and has communicated them to all the countries that contribute troops, without exceptions”, reports Radio France Internationale (RFI). “All requests from the contingents must now go through MINUSMA, which must validate them and send them to Foreign Affairs by note verbale,” he added.
Amid the withdrawal of French and Western troops due to tensions with the Malian military junta, at the end of June the United Nations Security Council approved a one-year extension of MINUSMA’s mandate in Mali until June 30, 2023 , without changes in the deployment of 13,289 soldiers and 1,920 police officers or in the strategic priorities.
The extension of MINUSMA’s mandate comes after France and its allies announced in February the troops deployed in the framework of the ‘Barkhane’ operation 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 African country.
Tensions have been on the rise in recent months due to the military junta’s announcement of lengthening the transition process and the alleged deployment of mercenaries from the Wagner Group, something that has been denied by Bamako and Moscow, which speak of regular military cooperation .
The transitional government has admitted the presence of Russian military instructors in the country, under a mandate similar to the one granted to the European Union training mission, amid Western suspicions about the increase in Russian influence in Africa.
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