Mali’s military junta on Sept. 25 stated that presidential elections initially scheduled for February 2024—meant to return Mali to constitutional rule after military coups in August 2020 and May 2021—have been postponed to an unspecified date.
The junta stated that the decision to delay the vote was due to several factors, including a dispute with a French firm over a civil registry database.
Mali had been expected to hold the first round of the vote on Feb. 4, 2024, and a second round two weeks later.
A military statement said seven rebels were killed and eight vehicles belonging to the rebel group were destroyed during the reprisal attack that followed.
The Malian military said in a statement that its forces remained mobilized to defend its positions and maintain the peace and security of the population.
It also confirmed that one of its aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing because of damage.
‘Recipe For Disaster’
Late last month, U.N. special envoy for Mali El-Ghassim Wane laid out the scale of the exit operation to the U.N. Security Council.Mr. Wane said the United Nations also needs to move out approximately 5,500 sea containers of equipment and 4,000 vehicles that belong to the U.N. and the countries that contributed personnel to MINUSMA, the fourth largest of the U.N.’s dozen peacekeeping operations.
Mali’s U.N. ambassador, Issa Konfourou, said the government is cooperating with the peacekeeping mission.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Mali’s request for the withdrawal of its peacekeepers by the end of the year is a “recipe for disaster.”
She warned of the potential for war, which she said could “unleash unspeakable, unthinkable devastation on the Malian people.”
The U.S. diplomat noted that increased instability could pave the way for the expansion of terror groups in the region.
Questions on Mandate
MINUSMA’s mandate in Mali included supporting the political transition; supporting the implementation of a peace agreement and protecting civilians—but not the fight against terrorism.Mali’s request for the withdrawal of peacekeeping troops comes as no surprise to Chris Kwaja, a member of the U.N. Working Group on Mercenaries in Mali.
“I consider the decision irrational in the context of the suffering that the people of Mali have been subjected to—first, the change in government was unconstitutional and secondly, the heightening state of insecurity that we see in Mali right now,” Mr. Kwaja told The Epoch Times.
“This insecurity might not just be defined from the perspective of bullets and guns—but also hunger, starvation, poor nutrition, water and sanitation challenges. These are all human security issues that aggravate the suffering of people. Mali is in that situation right now.”
“It also, however, did not have a credible, competent national government with which to work, which is the Achilles heel of all the foreign security operations in the country,” Mr. Meservey told The Epoch Times in an email.
“While MINSUMA has been ineffective, it is also being scapegoated—as are the French—by the junta that used the country’s insecurity as a pretext for taking power.
“Even though MINUSMA is a U.N. operation and not Western per se, I think it is getting lumped in with the West.”
“For example, did the troop-contributing countries contribute? How much did they contribute in terms of financial resources? To what extent did the government of Mali cooperate with the MINUSMA contingent?” he said.
“It is on the basis of our ability to respond to these questions that we can authoritatively say with certainty that MINUSMA failed.”
The U.N. operates based on an assessment of the reality on the ground, according to Mr. Kwaja.
Sahelian States on Precipice
No fewer than 60 armed groups currently operate in Mali; the country’s stability is crucial for international peace and security.An al-Qaeda affiliate last month declared war on Mali’s ruling military junta and has since blocked roads and waterways into Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and cradle of Islamic scholarship.
This has triggered fears and acute shortages among residents of the historic Malian city.
A MINUSMA official cautioned against “drawing a straight line between [MINUSMA’s] impending withdrawal and the current situation,” noting signs earlier in the year that the security situation was deteriorating.
Mr. Wane told the Security Council that the first phase of the withdrawal focused on closing the smallest and farthest outposts—Menaka, Ber, Goundam, and the temporary base in Ogossagou—which was completed on Aug. 25.
“The jihadist groups involved did change as a result of unifications and separations within the jihadist sphere in the Sahel [notably] al-Qaeda (through JNIM organization) and Islamic State (ISIS-Sahel) elements,” Mr. Matan told The Epoch Times in an email.
He also said the jihadist activity “expanded” to countries such as Benin, Ivory Coast, and Togo—countries that, until recently, were outside the areas of the conflict.
Peace Process Stalls
Like Mr. Meservey, Mr. Matan said he believes that the U.N. mission—and other Western endeavors in Mali—is simply “a victim and a scapegoat” of the change of leadership following the coup.“The new administration which rose to power following the coup used already-fulling grievances against the inability to tackle security threats, especially originating from jihadist activities,” Mr. Matan said.
“Parts of the Malian public saw the U.N. and its mission as a foreign force and as a part of the failure of the previous administration to restore security and peace. This claim, of course, is disregarding the fact that MINUSMA doesn’t have the mandate nor the means to accomplish this goal.”
It was also one of the many groups that objected to sweeping constitutional amendments pushed through by the junta in June.
The flow of weapons and insurgents to the Sahel in the aftermath of the civil war was instrumental in exacerbating the crisis in Mali that has since spread elsewhere in the region.
“The increasing violence in the Sahel and the recent spate of coups should prompt self-reflection and reform in how the United States operates in that region,” Mr. Meservey told The Epoch Times. “But America is not responsible for the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Mali.
“It is the fault of those who have chosen violence to achieve their goals, and of those who have misruled Mali for decades, creating an environment that makes it more likely for people to use violence.”
“MINUSMA results are mixed. It was out to restore the authority of the state and the territorial integrity of Mali while supporting the peace agreements. [But] today, we are very far from it because Mali has been cruelly marked by ever-increasing political and security instabilities,” Mr. Hounkpe told The Epoch Times.
“Mali is currently reassessing all its international partnerships with countries like France ... and the end of these foreign missions and operations will [only] be beneficial if [authorities] manage to, as much as possible, tactically and operationally eradicate the spread of armed terrorist groups.
“Only [Malian authorities] will be able to save Mali [from chaos]. It won’t be another country or paramilitary group.”