(Updates EX7075 with the position of the Minusma on its withdrawal)
Niamey, Aug 13 (EFE).- The United Nations Stabilization Mission of Mali (Minusma) announced this Sunday that it anticipated its final withdrawal from its camp in Ber, in the northern region of Timbuktu, due to the “degradation of security” in the area and the “high risk” it poses to the blue helmets.
The mission urged “the different stakeholders to refrain from any act that could further complicate the operation,” without giving further details, according to a publication by Minusma on the X platform (formerly Twitter),
“Camp 3” in Ber – which in the past was occupied by the UN mission – is currently under the control of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMA), Minusma sources confirmed to EFE this Sunday, stating that the withdrawal of the mission was carried out in coordination between both parties.
Other local sources informed EFE that the Malian Army carried out air patrols this Sunday in Ber and in the town of Timbuktu, in which “Russian instructors” also participated.
The Minusma, which has been in the African country for ten years, began to abandon its positions after last June the Malian transitional government – headed by a military junta – asked for its “immediate” withdrawal, a request that was subsequently approved by the Council UN Security.
The early withdrawal of the Minusma from Ber – which should take place on August 15 – occurs amid the resumption of tensions between the Malian Army and the ex-rebel collective Coordination of the Azawad Movements (CMA) that yesterday accused the Army of the country and its allies from the Wagner group of Russian mercenaries to attack their positions in Ber, which are under their control, last Friday.
This attack denounced by the CMA also coincides with another attack on the same day and in the same area by groups loyal to Al Qaeda in the Sahel against a unit of the Malian Army that was on its way to recover the Minusma camp, and resulted in 6 soldiers killed in addition to 24 jihadists neutralized.
Relations between the central power and the Tuareg movements in the African country began to deteriorate since the 2020 coup led by Colonel Assimi Goita, since they reproach the military junta in power for its alliance with Wagner and the participation of these mercenaries in military actions in the areas under their control (which include Kidal, Gao, Menaka and Timbuktu), as well as the breach of the Algiers agreement.
The recovery of the Minusma positions in Ber by the Malian Army will put the military face to face with the positions controlled by the Tuareg forces, which according to observers would increase the danger of possible confrontations between the two parties and would put at risk the ceasefire agreement signed in 2014 between the two.
Mali has been experiencing a deep political and security crisis since 2012, when rebel and jihadist groups took control of the north of the country, and it deteriorated after the two coups that took place in August 2020 and May 2021. EFE
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