UNITED NATIONS, New York
Mali’s foreign minister
defended the military government’s cooperation with Russia last weekend and
rejected three options proposed by the U.N. chief to reconfigure the U.N.
peacekeeping force in the west African country where Al-Qaida and Islamic State
extremist groups are driving insecurity.Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop
Abdoulaye Diop told the U.N.
Security Council that security is the country’s top priority and Mali will not
continue to justify its partnership with Russia, which is providing training
and equipment to the military. He did not mention Russia’s Wagner Group, the
private military contractor with ties to the Kremlin.
But Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres’ internal review released this week of the 17,500-strong U.N. mission,
known as MINUSMA, noted that Mali’s longstanding security partnership with
France and others deteriorated over concerns about Wagner Group personnel
operating in support of the Malian armed forces, which he said Russian
officials have publicly acknowledged.
U.S. deputy ambassador Richard
Mills said the United States welcomes the U.N.’s acknowledgement in the
internal review of the Wagner Group’s presence in Mali.
He called Wagner “a criminal
organization that is committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses
in Mali and elsewhere.” The U.S. has slapped several waves of sanctions on
Wagner and its owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a rogue millionaire with longtime
links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last year, France pulled its
troops out of Mali, where they had been helping drive Islamic extremists from
the country for nine years, following tensions with the ruling junta and the
arrival of Wagner mercenaries.
“Their presence is equated to
regular abuse against Malian civilians and increasing obstruction of MINUSMA,”
France’s deputy U.N. ambassador Nathalie Broadhurst told the Security Council
on Friday. “This is not acceptable.”
Mali has struggled to contain
an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012. Extremist rebels were forced from
power in Mali’s northern cities with the help of a French-led military
operation, but they regrouped in the desert and began launching attacks on the
Malian army and its allies. Insecurity has worsened with attacks on civilians
and U.N. peacekeepers in central Mali as well.
In August 2020, Mali’s
president was overthrown in a coup that included Assimi Goita, then an army
colonel. In June 2021, Goita was sworn in as president of a transitional
government after carrying out his second coup in nine months.
Foreign minister Diop told the
council that Goita is “resolutely committed” to holding a referendum on a draft
constitution in March, electing deputies to the National Assembly in October
and November, and holding presidential elections in February 2024.
He said the government remains
committed to defending its territory, protecting its people and implementing a
2015 peace agreement.
The peace agreement was signed
by three parties — the government, a coalition of groups called the
Coordination of Movements of Azawad that includes ethnic Arabs and Tuaregs who
seek autonomy in northern Mali, and a pro-government militia known as the
Platform – but the movements suspended participation in December.
Diop called their decision
“regrettable” but said “we hope soon to reach a common understanding with our
brothers from the signatory movements.”
Secretary-General Guterres’
internal review of MINUSMA called Mali “one of the most difficult operating
environments for peacekeeping,” citing significant air and ground restrictions
imposed by Malian security authorities. The restrictions have exposed
peacekeeping personnel “to security risks in an already dangerous environment
in which 165 peacekeepers have been killed and 687 injured by hostile action
since July 2013,” he said.
The secretary-general said the
mission’s operations will come under additional pressure because four countries
that have contributed troops are pulling them out, which will mean a loss of
over 2,250 troops.
Guterres said MINUSMA’s
ability to deliver on its mandate — protecting civilians, supporting
improvement of the security and political situation and monitoring human rights
— will hinge on advances in the political transition, progress in implementing
the peace agreement and freedom of movement for peacekeeper and their
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets.
The secretary-general said
expansion of MINUSMA’s mandate in 2019 without additional manpower
overstretched the mission and “the current situation is unsustainable.”
He proposed three options:
increasing the force by either 3,680 or 2,000 uniformed personnel;
reconfiguring the force to support its existing priorities or to focus
primarily on supporting the peace agreement; or ending the peacekeeping mission
and transforming it into a political mission.
Mali’s Diop said the U.N.
chief’s proposals don’t meet Mali’s aspirations for a more robust security
operation which would include engaging in offensive actions and patrols,
especially as part of its mandate to protect civilians.
On human rights, he said, the
government “will staunchly oppose any and all instrumentalization and
politicization of this issue,” but will strive to protect rights.
Diop said the government
participated in the internal review in the hope it would “respond to the deep
aspirations of the Malian people.”
“That has not come to pass,”
the foreign minister said. “However, the government of Mali remains open to
dialogue with the United Nations in the coming months to ultimately identify
the way ahead.”
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador
Vassily Nebenzia called security “the overriding priority” during Mali’s
transition “owing to the security vacuum resulting from a hasty withdrawal of
French and European military units.”
Nonetheless, he said, Malian
forces over the last few months “have demonstrated that they can indeed achieve
results in the fight against terrorism,” adding that the Russian training “is
bearing fruit.”
When it comes to the options
for reconfiguring MINUSMA, Nebenzia said, Mali’s needs and opinion are “an
overriding priority.”
By contrast, U.S. envoy Mills
expressed serious concern at the transitional government’s restrictions on
MINUSMA which make its extremely volatile operating environment more dangerous
for peacekeepers and civilians.
He demanded that the
government lift all restrictions, reiterating the internal review’s conclusion
that MINUSMA’s success will hinge on the support it gets from the transitional
authorities.
Mills said continued
obstructions “should force this council to seriously reconsider its support for
MINUSMA in its current form.” - AP
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