In Mali, the last Minusma convoy that left Kidal on October 31 as part of its withdrawal from the country suffered three improvised explosive device attacks. One of these attacks was claimed by the Jnim (Islam and Muslim Support Group).
Published on: March 11, 2023 – 10:13 p.m
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They are Chadians, Guineans, Egyptians, Nepalese and Bangladeshis. The last peacekeepers from Minusma have left Kidal Tuesday, on the street. Their convoy has already suffered several attacks and eight injuries, including one serious one. Some UN staff, particularly civilians, were able to leave Kidal by plane, but not all necessary permissions were granted.
Today Minusma is applying for approval for a different type of flight. No longer to evacuate the peacekeepers, but to secure their land convoy. “We ask every day to be able to carry out surveillance and air raid protection flights,” explains a Minusma manager, “and every day we are told no.” »
Please provide an overview of the convoy
In concrete terms, this would mean that Minusma aircraft would be allowed to fly over the convoy in real time to prevent the laying of homemade mines by jihadist groups and to enable immediate intervention in the event of an incident. “The road to Gao is still long, several hundred kilometers. “The Malian transition authorities have the power to improve the chances of survival of our peacekeepers,” the UN framework continues. When asked by RFI about the reasons justifying these flight bans, the Malian army did not respond.
A military convoy took the same route in the opposite direction a month ago. Malian soldiers and their Russian deputies under Wagner are still stationed in the Anéfis area, about a hundred kilometers south of Kidal.
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