Malian foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop said this weekend the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from northern Mali would happen on time by December 31, despite UN concerns. The UN also said the ruling junta had not given it permits to send in convoys to retrieve its equipment from its bases there. The departure of the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA by the end of 2023 is part of a ongoing security reconfiguration launched by the military junta, which seized power in 2020. The UN is gravely concerned about heightened tensions and increasing armed presence in Northern #Mali, which are likely to impede the timely and orderly departure of @UN_MINUSMA. Diop said he was aware the UN had requested authorisation to send in logistics convoys by road to remove equipment from its northern bases and conduct air operations to protect the drawdown.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 15, 2023 00:59 UTC