July 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States on Thursday condemned Bamako’s opposition to the one-year extension of the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
The United Nations Security Council approved on Wednesday a one-year extension of MINUSMA’s mandate, amid the withdrawal of French and Western troops due to tensions with the Malian military junta.
“The United States is deeply concerned about the statement by Mali’s transitional government that it intends to deny MINUSMA the freedom of movement necessary to fulfill its mandate. To do so would be a flagrant violation of the status-of-forces agreement that the transitional government is obliged to respect,” said the permanent representative of the United States to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Thus, he stressed that the United States is “fully committed to guaranteeing the safety of UN peacekeepers” in the African country.
“Freedom of movement is essential for MINUSMA to carry out the tasks assigned to it by the UN Security Council,” he stressed in a statement released by his office.
Thus, he has emphasized that “the transitional government should not prevent MINUSMA from carrying out any part of its mandate, including this one.”
“We urge the transitional government to immediately and fully assume its responsibility as the host country of a UN peacekeeping operation and to respect the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). English)”, he riveted.
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 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 West African country.
Tensions in the country have been increasing in recent months after the announcement by the military junta to extend the transition process and due to the alleged deployment of mercenaries from the Wagner Group, something that has been denied by Bamako and Moscow, which speak of cooperation regular military.
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