The UN mission in Mali (Minusma) officially ended its 10-year mission in the country plagued by jihadism and deep crisis on Monday after it was forced out by the ruling junta.
Minusma lowered the United Nations flag at its headquarters near the airport in the capital Bamako, its spokeswoman Fatoumata Kaba told AFP. AFP correspondents were able to witness the start of an ongoing ceremony on Monday morning that, according to the spokesman, symbolically marks the end of the mission, although some of its elements are still on site.
The closure ends a commitment that began in 2013 in the face of the spread of violence that threatened the stability of a poor and fragile state. They have since spread to the center of the country and its Sahel neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, where thousands of civilians and combatants have died and millions of people have been displaced.
With more than 180 members killed in hostilities carried out mostly by armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, Minusma is the worst-hit UN peacekeeping mission in recent years. The number was around 15,000 soldiers and police from a variety of countries.
Despite the human losses and a significant financial commitment, Minusma was sharply criticized by some Malians, who denounced its inability to contain the crisis.
Minusma has been regularly criticized by a section of public opinion and its leaders for its impotence in the face of jihadist actions. His presence had become almost untenable, but also undesirable, for the soldiers who took control of the country in 2020. Burkina Faso and Niger, on the other hand, have seen the emergence of military regimes in recent years.
“Liquidation” is imminent
Relations between Minusma and the junta have further deteriorated under the junta. The United Nations openly condemned the authorities' flight bans and other obstructions to the mission. The authorities protested against Minusma's interference in the defense of human rights, which they said was nevertheless part of its mandate.
The head of Malian diplomacy, Abdoulaye Diop, finally called on the UN Security Council in June for Minusma to leave “immediately”. He called the mission a “failure” and said it was not the solution but “part of the problem.”
Minusma could not stay against the wishes of the Malian authorities. The Security Council immediately terminated Minusma's mandate on June 30 and gave her a goal of leaving the country by December 31.
Since then, Minusma has withdrawn from most of its 13 positions under difficult conditions in the north and under pressure from military escalation between all armed actors present on the ground.
In addition to Bamako, Minusma remains committed to closing the Gao and Timbuktu (north) sites, where it plans to carry out what the United Nations calls a “dissolution” of the mission after January 1. This involves, for example, handing over the last devices to the authorities or terminating existing contracts.
As of Friday, more than 10,500 uniformed or civilian Minusma employees have left Mali, out of a total of around 13,800 at the start of the withdrawal, Minusma said on X (ex-Twitter).