The United Nation, UN, has officially ends its peace-keeping mission in Mali on Monday. The mission, known as MINUSMA, lowered the United Nations flag on its headquarters in the capital Bamako, after a 10-year deployment of its military operatives.
The UN spokesperson, Fatoumata Kaba who revealed this, added that the symbolic ceremony marks the official end of the mission in Mali.
Kaba stated that, a “liquidation phase” will take place after January 1, involving activities such as handing over remaining equipment to the authorities.
The withdrawal of the UN stabilization mission, known as MINUSMA, has ignited fears that fighting will intensify between troops and armed factions for territorial control.
MINUSMA had for the past decade maintained around 15,000 soldiers and police in Mali, with about 180 members killed in hostile acts.
As of Friday, more than 10,500 uniformed and civilian MINUSMA personnel had left Mali, out of a total of around 13,800 staff at the start of the withdrawal, the UN mission said on ‘X’, formerly ‘Twitter’.
