Mali to suspend UN peacekeeping mission rotations

Mali has said it will suspend rotations of the UN's peacekeeping mission for "national security" reasons, in the latest complication in ties between the ruling junta and international partners.

Rotations of the MINUSMA mission are being suspended, including those that have already been scheduled, the foreign ministry in Bamako said on Thursday.

The suspension will last until a meeting is held to "facilitate the coordination and regulation" of the rotation of contingents, it said in a statement, which did not expound on the reasons for the move.

But it came four days after Mali arrested 49 Ivorian soldiers it later described as "mercenaries" intent on toppling the country's military-led government.

Ivory Coast says the soldiers are so-called National Support Elements (NSE) — a UN procedure allowing peacekeeping contingents to use outside contractors for logistical duties.

The soldiers, who were arrested after arriving at Bamako airport aboard a special flight, comprised the eighth rotation under this scheme, according to Ivory Coast.

Mali's statement did not refer to the Ivorians' arrest, nor did it give a date for talks to discuss MINUSMA rotations.

But it assured the UN mission that Mali would "work diligently to create conditions conducive to the lifting of this suspension of rotation, which is an essential step in enabling the deployed contingents to ensure the proper implementation of MINUSMA's mandate".

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"Constant dialogue" to overcome "misunderstandings"

MINUSMA said in a terse statement it took note of Mali's decision but stressed it was ready to engage without delay in discussions, adding that the rotations had a crucial role in maintaining its mission's operational effectiveness as well as the morale of its personnel.

The statement added that "all must be done to resolve urgently" the issue.

MINUSMA — the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali — was launched in 2013 to help one of the world's poorest countries cope with a bloody campaign.

It is one of the UN's biggest peacekeeping operations, with around 12,200 soldiers and 1,700 police sent by some 50 countries. It operates regular flights between Mali and neighbouring countries for supply mis sions and to evacuate wounded soldiers.

Mali, a poor and landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel, underwent military coups in August 2020 and May 2021, creating a political crisis that coincides with an ongoing security crisis.

Mali is struggling to stem a conflict that took root after a 2012 coup and has since spread from the West African country's arid north.

Thousands have died and millions have been displaced across the Sahel region. Some of the groups have links to Al Qaeda and Daesh terror group.

READ MORE: UN peacekeeper killed by mine in northern Mali