Mali’s military junta ordered the United Nations to remove its peacekeepers from the country. Secretary-General António Guterres called the six-month withdrawal from the West African nation “unprecedented.”
Mali’s U.N. Ambassador Issa Konfourou is communicating with MINUSMA while it removes its 12,947 peacekeepers and police, 12 camps, and 1,786 civilian staff. Mali officials will not extend the deadline past December 31. MINUSMA is considered the most dangerous U.N. mission, with over 300 personnel killed since peacekeepers entered the country in 2013. Guterres noted that removing troops and personnel is even more difficult now due to instability in neighboring Niger. Mali’s military junta recently brought in the Wagner group to assist in anti-terror operations.
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