Mali

Mali’s foreign minister defended the military government’s cooperation with Russia on Friday 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.

Mali’s military rulers received more warplanes and helicopters from Russia Thursday, an AFP correspondent noted, the latest in a series of deliveries from its new top military and political ally.

The UN Secretary-General proposes three options for the reconfiguration of MINUSMA (No 65 ff): Option 1: full capacity to implement the Mission’s mandate in its entirety across all areas of its deployment; Option 2: maintaining focus on the strategic priorities with a consolidated footprint; Option 3: withdrawal of uniformed units and conversion into a special political mission.

The Council today adopted a decision extending the mandate of the EU Capacity Building Mission in Mali (EUCAP Sahel Mali) until 31 January 2025, … . In light of the volatile situation in Mali, the Council has also decided to adapt the mission’s mandate so as to take into consideration the political and security situation in the country.

[…] The security situation in Mali remains complex, particularly in the centre and the border area between Burkina Faso, Mali and the Niger.

Le sort du G5 Sahel est plus que jamais incertain. Le chef d'Etat nigérien Mohamed Bazoum, qui doit en prendre la présidence le mois prochain, ne cache pas son scepticisme sur l'utilité de cette organisation.

A court in Mali has sentenced 46 Ivorian troops whose detention in Mali sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries to 20 years in prison, the public prosecutor said Friday. Three women soldiers among the original group detained in July, and who were freed in early September, were sentenced to death in absentia.

A $1.5 million grant to the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, announced on Tuesday, is designed to enable a more inclusive environment for women blue helmets serving in the country, while also improving living conditions. 

Secretary-General António Guterres “strongly condemns” an attack against a UN police patrol in northern Mali that claimed the lives of two Nigerian peacekeepers, according to his spokesperson.

German forces will stay in Mali until 2024 only if the junta allows them to operate freely and elections are held, Germany’s defense minister warned Bamako during a visit Thursday.