As Russia Vows Wagner Will Stay in Africa, U.N. Forces Prepare to Exit Mali
NewsweekJun 27, 2023
On Sunday, the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) announced that it had sped up a planned withdrawal from a base in the country’s north citing a declining security situation.
MINUSMA brought forward its departure from the town of Ber, as recent armed clashes in the region posed a significant risk to its troops. During the pullout, the convoy was reportedly attacked twice and three UN soldiers were wounded.
MINUSMA's exit at the urging of the Malian junta is the second major withdrawal of foreign troops from Mali in recent years, following the junta's call last year for France to cease its counterterrorism operations. While MINUSMA also supported peace efforts with the Tuareg-led CMA, Bamako now relies on the Wagner Group, which the US classifies as a transnational criminal organization. Bamako's ill-considered decisions will worsen the security and humanitarian situation in Mali and further destabilize the country.
In ten years, MINUSMA has failed to stabilize Mali — which suffers from the presence of jihadist groups and separatist forces — resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians and over 170 peacekeepers. Along with the UN, the interim government has also called on France to leave Mali, since Paris is playing a double game in its former colony by backing terrorists to justify its "counterterrorism campaign." Bamako remains willing to work with all partners to stabilize the country, but it must be a partnership that respects Mali's sovereignty, as is the case with Russia.
As tensions mount between Bamako and Tuareg separatists, and military rulers demanded the UN's withdrawal, they recently released Islamic State leaders, hoping to reintegrate the Islamists into the country's social and political fabric. In truth, this is merely a sign of Bamako's weakness and a major propaganda success for the Islamists. Add to this the obvious failure of the UN and France to fight the extremists, and the country's future looks bleak.
There is a 50% chance that there will be at least 12 active United Nations peacekeeping missions in 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.