UN mission withdraws from northern Mali camp

KIGALI, Rwanda

The UN mission in Mali said on Monday that it completed the “accelerated withdrawal” of all its troops and civilian personnel from its base in Tessalit, in northern Mali.

In a statement, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said the pullout marked the “first closure of a MINUSMA camp in the Kidal region of northern Mali.”

The mission, however, expressed concern about the safety of a land convoy heading to Gao, another northern town.

“This accelerated withdrawal results in the destruction of equipment, such as vehicles, ammunition, generators and other property, which should have been returned to troop-contributing countries or redeployed to other United Nations peacekeeping missions, resulting in significant material and financial losses,” it said.

The withdrawal came amid “a deteriorating security situation endangering the lives of hundreds of civilian and uniformed personnel,” it added.

A tense security situation is posed by armed groups that resist the transfer of the camps to government forces.

The Malian army said it had taken over Tessalit over the weekend.

The UN mission said that it is also in the “process of withdrawing from Aguelhok in the coming days. In Kidal, the Mission is closely assessing the situation, with a view to adjusting the plan for withdrawing from its base.”

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

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

On Oct. 19, a MINUSMA aircraft was hit by small arms fire while landing in Tessalit. No injuries or major damages to the aircraft were reported.