This Sunday, December 31 marks the official end of the UN mission in Mali (Minusma), which packed up a little earlier. While the Malian army, with the decisive support of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, was able to retake the town of Kidal from the rebels of the CSP-PSD coalition on November 14, the security situation continues to pose a problem on the ground: since Friday, at least two Jihadist attacks took place in the North.
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With our regional correspondent, Serge Daniel
THE departure of Minusma from Mali is not synonymous with the end of security problems on Malian territory… at least for the moment: jihadist groups have, for example, claimed responsibility for attacks in the north of the country against positions of the national army.
HAS Timbuktu Saturday December 30, these were shells that were launched by the jihadists. Last month, they fired mortars towards the town of Kidal, which the army regained control of last month. In contradictory statements, each side claims to have inflicted losses on the adversary.
For the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jnim), an ally of Al-Qaeda, the departure of Minusma and the control of the town of Kidal by the Malian army – supported by fighters from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner – constitute a new stage in the struggle. This will continue, declared Iyad Ag Ghalythe leader of the terrorist group, in a video.
For the Malian junta, however, the definitive departure of Minusma is rather an opportunity for the national army to deploy the necessary means on the ground to ensure the security of property and people.
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