The Ivorian government has announced the withdrawal of its contingent from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), amid bilateral tensions following the arrest in May of nearly 50 Ivorian military personnel in Bamako.
The permanent mission of Côte d’Ivoire to the UN has conveyed to the international body «the decision of progressive withdrawal of Ivorian military personnel and policemen deployed within MINUSMA», according to a letter delivered to the Peace Operations department.
«The relief of the protection company based in Mopti and the deployment of staff officers and police officers, scheduled for October and November 2022, cannot be carried out,» it explained, before explaining that Yamoussoukro «does not plan to relieve in August 2023 the military and other elements present within the MINUSMA force.»
In this sense, he stressed that he will transmit to the UN the «appropriate measures he will take to implement this decision immediately», while showing his «will to remain committed to the service of peace», as reported by the Malian media.
He therefore emphasized that the Ivorian government «is ready to redeploy the troops withdrawn from Mali to other UN peacekeeping missions», without the international organization having made any pronouncement for the moment on the contents of the letter.
Côte d’Ivoire denounced in September an «unacceptable blackmail» by the Malian military junta over the situation of more than 40 Ivorian military personnel detained in July at the airport of the capital, accusations rejected by Mali.
The Malian military junta had 49 soldiers from Ivory Coast arrested as «mercenaries» when they landed in Bamako. The soldiers were on a mission to relieve troops securing a MINUSMA base at the capital’s airport, according to Yamoussoukro.
The announcement comes days after French President Emmanuel Macron made official the end of the ‘Barkhane’ operation in the Sahel, amid the withdrawal of international troops due to tensions with the military junta over its postponements of elections following the August 2020 and May 2021 coups.
