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Mali’s UN peacekeeping mission (Minusma) risks disintegrating as powerful troop-contributing countries withdraw their respective forces.
Germany is the latest country to say its 1,000 peacekeepers will leave the Sahel nation by May 2024 as a fallout over the deployment of Russian mercenaries continues.
Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht assured it would be an orderly departure as Mali plans to hold transitional elections in February 2024.
The UK, Cote d’Ivoire and Benin also intend to pull out their respective forces next year, while Egypt suspended operations indefinitely.
Relations between Mali and Western partners have deteriorated since the military junta led by Col Assimi Goita seized power in August 2020.
Bamako has steadily pivoted to Moscow, which triggered the hasty withdrawal of thousands of troops by Mali’s long-standing security partner France in August, ending nearly a decade of military co-operation.
Minusma – which has had 12,000 troops in Mali since 2013 – is the UN’s largest and deadliest operations. Peacekeepers are frequently killed or wounded in attacks by al-Qaeda and Islamic State fighters.
Operations by the UN forces are further jeopardised by public protests demanding the expulsion of international troops, while hostility by Malian officials undermines efforts to stabilise the country.
Islamist militants are becoming emboldened by the growing security vacuum leading to an increase in deadly attacks against Mali’s beleaguered army and the spread of violence to neighbo