Britain’s Secretary of State for Defense James Heappey, in a statement to MPs in the parliament, announced that they will withdraw about 300 British soldiers they sent to Mali as part of the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Mission.
James Heappey said that the two coups in Mali within three years weakened international efforts to advance peace.
Claiming that the Mali government is working with the Russian security firm “Wagner Group”, Heappey said, “The Wagner Group is linked to mass human rights abuses and the Mali government’s partnership with the Wagner Group is undermining lasting stability and security in their region.” made its assessment.
Describing the operation in Mali as “the most dangerous peacekeeping mission in the world”, Heappey stated that 288 UN soldiers have lost their lives here since 2013.
FRANCE ALSO STARTED TO WITHDRAW ITS SOLDIERS FROM MALI
The government in Mali stated that the defense cooperation agreements signed in 2014 were terminated due to France’s violation of Mali’s sovereign right in various ways.
The reasons for these violations were France’s decision to reduce the number of soldiers in Operation Barkhane without consulting Mali, the Barkhane and Takuba Task Force ending their activities without notifying Mali, and the unauthorized flight of French military aircraft.
The first crisis between the two countries started with the allegations that Wagner mercenaries were stationed in Mali.
France announced that it will withdraw from Mali, where it has been experiencing various crises since October 2021, when the allegations were made, and that it would end Operation Barkhane.
France had withdrawn on April 19 from the top at Gossi, where about 300 soldiers were located.
Within the scope of the withdrawal, which started in February 2022 due to the inconsistency in political and military conditions, it started to withdraw its troops from Menaka as of June 13, after Gossi. (AA)