United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali

United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
Abbreviation MINUSMA
Formation 25 April 2013
Type Peacekeeping Mission
Legal status Active
Headquarters Bamako, Mali
Head
 Mahamat Saleh Annadi, Special Representative[1]
Parent organization
 United Nations Security Council
Website Official website in English

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations unies pour la stabilisation au Mali, MINUSMA[2]) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 by UN Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise the country after the Tuareg rebellion (2012).[3] It was officially deployed on 1 July. MINUSMA is easily the UN’s most dangerous peacekeeping mission, with 150 peacekeepers killed out of a force of about 11,000.[4]

Next to MINUSMA, there are current further peace operations in Mali. These are the European Union mission EUCAP Sahel Mali and EUTM Mali.

History

In 2012, Tuareg and other peoples in northern Mali's Azawad region started an insurgency in the north under the banner of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. After some initial successes and complaints from the Malian Army that it was ill-equipped to fight the insurgents, who had benefited from an influx of heavy weaponry from the 2011 Libyan civil war as well as other sources, elements of the army staged a military coup d'état on 21 March 2012.[5] Following the coup, the rebels made further advances to capture the three biggest cities in the north: Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal.[6] Following economic sanctions and a blockade by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the country, a deal, brokered in Burkina Faso by President Blaise Compaoré under the auspices of ECOWAS, was signed that would see Amadou Sanogo cede power to Dioncounda Traoré to assume the presidency in an interim capacity until an election is held.[7]

On 1 July 2013, 6,000 of a future total of 12,600 UN peacekeeping troops officially took over responsibility for patrolling the country's north from France and the ECOWAS' International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA). The group is expected to play a role in the 2013 Malian presidential election.[8] The force is the third largest UN peacekeeping force in operation in the world.[9]

Organisation and forces

Its headquarters are in the Malian capital, Bamako. Military intelligence will be evaluated by Force Headquarters U2- Intelligence Section.[10]

The force is led by Belgian Major General Jean-Paul Deconinck until 2 October 2018, after which he will be succeeded by Lieutenant General Dennis Gyllensporre of Sweden.[11][12]

Current contributors are:[13]

officers and administrative personnel [18]

Incidents

In October 2013, a suicide bomber attacked the Chadian soldiers resulting in two dead soldiers.[20]

On 13 December, two Senegalese peacekeepers were killed at a bombing outside the Malian Solidarity Bank in Kidal a day before the second round of the Malian parliamentary election, 2013.[21] In October 2014, 10 soldiers were killed—nine from Niger and one from Senegal near Gao and Kidal, respectively—bringing the total number of dead soldiers from the mission to 21 with dozens more wounded. It also preceded Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop calling for the UNSC to send a rapid deployment force to the country claiming that there was an increase in drug traffickers and Islamist fighters. U.N. Peacekeeping chief Hervé Ladsous also spoke to the UNSC from Bamako, where he attend a memorial service for the dead soldiers. He added that a combination of factors has led to the increase in attacks on U.N. troops, including the drawdown of French forces and a perceived lack of Malian security forces, as such MINUSMA, being the main international presence in the area, was a target. He further noted that the UN was no longer working in a peacekeeping environment, but sought to increase protection of the mission’s staff, equipment and bases.[22]

As of early 2018, more than 150 MINUSMA troops had been killed in hit and run attacks and bombings by Islamist groups during the ongoing conflict.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minusma/leadership.shtml
  2. ↑ "Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (MINUSMA), French language webpage on UN website for the mission". www.un.org. United Nations. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
  3. ↑ "United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)". www.un.org. United Nations. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  4. ↑ "Why UN forces are finding it hard to bring peace to Mali". The Economist. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  5. ↑ Look, Anne (25 March 2012). "Uncertainty Reigns in Mali". Voice of America.
  6. ↑ "Timbuktu bombarded as Mali constitution 'restored'". Hindustan Times. 1 April 2012.
  7. ↑ "Mali junta says power transfer 'within days'". Al Jazeera.
  8. ↑ "UN takes over Mali peacekeeping mission". Al Jazeera.
  9. ↑ The UN and Mali: Secure the Sahara, if you can, The Economist (July 6, 2013).
  10. ↑ Rune Thomas Ege. "Norske soldater på plass i Mali". VG. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Secretary-General Appoints Major General Jean-Paul Deconinck of Belgium Force Commander, UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali". UN.org. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Secretary-General Appoints Lieutenant General Dennis Gyllensporre of Sweden Force Commander of United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali" (Press release). New York: United Nations. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  13. ↑ https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minusma/facts.shtml
  14. ↑ Ljunggren, David (March 16, 2018). "Canada to send helicopters, troops to Mali: government source". Reuters. Canada will send helicopters and support troops, including medical staff, to join a United Nations peace-keeping mission in Mali later this year, a senior Canadian government source said late on Friday.
  15. ↑ Carl, David (March 19, 2018). "Canada to deploy aviation task force to Mali". Jane's Information Group. The task force will provide tactical airlift and logistics for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) by supplying two Boeing CH-147F (CH-47) Chinook and four Bell CH-146 (412EP) Griffon helicopters for armed escort duty. An unstated number of support personnel will also be deployed to the country.
  16. ↑ "Canadian peacekeepers arriving in Mali warned of isolation, weather, and UN red tape". National Post. 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  17. ↑ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. September 2016. p. 26.
  18. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  19. ↑ http://www.emgfa.pt/pt/comunicados/2015-01
  20. ↑ "UN troops killed in Mali suicide attack". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  21. ↑ "Car bomb kills UN peacekeepers in Mali". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  22. ↑ "Mali Calls for Rapid Reaction Force to Quell Unrest". VOA. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  23. ↑ https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minusma/facts.shtml
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