United Nations Peacekeepers are preparing to withdraw from one of their largest missions just a day after Russia's top diplomat vowed the private military company Wagner Group would continue operations in Mali, even after the organization staged a mutiny against the Russian Defense Ministry over the weekend.
Relations between the Malian government and the 13,000-strong U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali have soured since Interim President Assimi Goïta took power in a May 2021 military coup. Last week, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop called on the U.N. mission to exit the country "without delay," accusing it of "fueling community tensions exacerbated by extremely serious allegations which are highly detrimental to peace, reconciliation and national cohesion in Mali."
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that a draft U.N. Security Council resolution outlined a specific timeline for the MINUSMA exit, which would begin as soon as the end of this week, on June 30, one day short of its 10th anniversary.
Speaking to Newsweek, a U.N. Peacekeeping spokesperson said that, "subject to the decision of the Security Council, the United Nations is ready to work with the Malian authorities on an exit plan for MINUSMA."
The spokesperson explained that plans for such a departure were already being formed by U.N. Peacekeeping leadership.
"The Secretariat has begun internal discussions and planning for an orderly exit, identifying the multiple aspects and layers of such a massive and complex endeavor, while also simultaneously engaging Member States in this regard," the spokesperson said. "Securing the constructive cooperation of the Malian authorities will be essential to facilitate the process."
Newsweek has reached out to the Malian Embassy in Washington, D.C. for comment.
If carried out, the exit would mark the second major departure of foreign forces from Mali in recent years, after France withdrew its own personnel from a joint counterterrorism campaign against jihadis in its former colony last year. That move was also marked by deteriorating ties between the Malian and French governments following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021 in Bamako.
In the meantime, however, Mali has bolstered its relationship with Russia and praised the work of the Wagner Group, despite Western allegations of human rights abuses committed by a group that the United States designated a transnational criminal organization in January.
The Wagner Group has also elicited concerns within Russia itself after its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, called for a rebellion against Russian military leadership on Friday amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Accusing the Russian Defense Ministry of ordering strikes against Wagner Group positions in Ukraine, he mobilized the organization's fighters to conduct a brazen incursion within Russia, taking positions in Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh before abruptly halting an advance toward Moscow after direct threats from President Vladimir Putin.
As questions continue to surround the fate of Prigozhin and the Wagner Group, in comments made to the state-run RT outlet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attempted to dispel rumors on Monday that partners in Mali and the Central African Republic were in a state of "panic" over the recent events.
"The CAR and Mali are the countries whose respective governments officially requested the private military company to offer its services," Lavrov said. "This was at a time when the CAR and Mali had been abandoned by the French and other Europeans who withdrew their anti-terrorist contingents and closed down military bases that were supposed to sustain the fight against terrorism."
"At a time when they were left face to face with thugs, Bangui and Bamako asked Wagner PMC to provide security for their authorities," he added. "In addition to relations with this PMC, the governments of the CAR and Mali have official contacts with our leadership. At their request, several hundred military personnel are working in the CAR as instructors. This work will continue."
Washington, for its part, has expressed concern over MINUSMA's planned exit from Mali.
"The United States regrets the transition government of Mali's decision to revoke its consent for MINUSMA," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement last week.
"We are concerned about the effects this decision will have on the security and humanitarian crises impacting the Malian people," Miller added. "We will continue to work with our partners in West Africa to help them tackle the urgent security and governance challenges they face. We welcome further consultations with regional leaders on additional steps to promote stability and prevent conflict."
Miller said President Joe Biden's administration continued to support MINUSMA chief and U.N. Special Representative to the Secretary-General El-Ghassim Wane.
"MINUSMA's drawdown must be orderly and responsible, prioritizing the safety and security of peacekeepers and Malians," Miller said. "The transition government must also continue to adhere to all its commitments, including the transition to a democratically elected, civilian-led government by March 2024 and implementation of the Algiers Accord."
Last month, the U.S. issued sanctions against Ivan Maslov, described as a top Wagner Group official in Mali. The U.S issued additional sanctions Tuesday against another alleged Wagner Group operative in Mali, Andrey Ivanov, along with four companies allegedly linked to the organization, two in the Central African Republic and one each in Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
MINUSMA has supported peace efforts in northern Mali, known to separatists as "Azawad," including the 2015 agreement between the government and a coalition of Tuareg-led rebels known as the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA). MINUSMA's roles have included monitoring the subsequent ceasefire, facilitating the extension of state authority and protecting civilians in urban centers from militant groups.
But political and security unrest has persisted in the West African nation, marking one of the deadliest spots for U.N. Peacekeepers, of whom 174 have died and more than 700 have been wounded over the past decade.
Like the other 11 active U.N. Peacekeeping missions, most of which are in Africa, MINUSMA's mandate is determined by the U.N. Security Council but also in effect requires the consent of the host nation.
Protests have also emerged in recent years against U.N. Peacekeepers and in support of Russia in the CAR and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The heads of the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA) and the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO)recently expressed to Newsweek the lasting necessity of the roles of their respective missions and warned of the potential for worsening unrest without their presence.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Based in his hometown of Staten Island, New York City, Tom O'Connor is an award-winning Senior Writer of Foreign Policy ... Read more
