The peacekeeping operation, known as the most dangerous assignment for UN soldiers, is set to be fully completed by December 31, following the instructions of its Security Council mandate.

Once that time comes, the transitional authorities will take control of MINUSMA’s 12 camps and one temporary operating base. In the past decade, more than 300 peacekeepers have been killed due to ongoing extremist attacks and widespread insecurity in northern and central Mali.

Timely withdrawal

Approximately 13,000 military members will return to their home countries, and non-military employees will depart as equipment is either moved to other missions or returned to the nations that provided it, including vehicles.

The United Nations stated that it remains committed to meeting the deadline for withdrawal, as requested by Mali to leave without delay.

MINUSMA has been making efforts to meet the given deadline, however, since September 24th, their transportation convoys have been unable to travel from Gao to collect equipment from Aguelhok, Tessalit, and Kidal.

This could negatively affect the Mission’s ability to meet the designated timeline.

Withdrawal without retrieval 

The document states that tensions are rising in Northern Mali, which could lead to the Mission having to leave without being able to recover equipment owned by Troop-Contributing Countries or the UN. This could result in significant financial losses and potentially prevent the UN from distributing the equipment to other peace operations.

The current circumstances put the air missions carried out by the Mission at risk, as it aims to maintain its drawdown and guarantee the well-being of all individuals involved.

As all parties in the process have the obligation to refrain from any action or statement that could jeopardize a safe and timely exit, the UN also stressed that Security Council resolution 2690 calls upon Malian authorities to cooperate fully with UN peacekeeping during the drawdown, withdrawal, and liquidation.

The source of this information is from the United Nations website.