UN mission lowers its flag in Mali

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) lowered the UN flag at its headquarters on Monday to symbolically mark the end of its deployment after a decade-long presence in the West African country.

Speaking in Mali’s capital, Bamako, El-Ghassim Wane, the special representative of the UN secretary-general and head of MINUSMA, paid tribute to the peacekeepers for the immense sacrifices made over the years.

“My thoughts are particularly heartfelt for the 310 peacekeepers who have fallen in Mali, as well as for more than 700 who have been injured in various incidents, some of them suffering from lifelong disabilities,” he said.

He reaffirmed the UN's continued solidarity with the Malian people in their quest for peace, security and development.

Wane noted that despite the difficult conditions in which the personnel operated, the mission played a role in the protection of civilians in areas of their deployment and the delivery of humanitarian assistance as well as supporting efforts to promote and protect human rights.

At the end of June, the UN Security Council resolved to end the mission in Mali following a request of the junta that seized power in a coup in 2020.

The mission, deployed since 2013 to contain growing violence in north and central Mali, had about 11,600 troops and 1,500 police officers in the West African country, whose withdrawal is scheduled to last until Dec. 31.

Since August, the mission has transferred 10 of the 13 areas it occupied to the Malian authorities.

Wane said more than two-thirds of the mission’s workforce has already returned to their respective countries.