Mali’s interim Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga on Saturday lashed out at France and the United Nations over his nation’s deteriorating security situation, reported The Africa News.
Addressing the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Maiga slammed France’s decision to withdraw its troops from the country and relocating its remaining troops to neighboring Niger amid deteriorating relations with Mali’s two-time coup leader Assimi Goita, who took power in a military takeover in 2020, and then in another coup in 2021. Maiga, an army colonel, was appointed interim prime minister by Goita last month.
Paris had deployed its troops in Mali between 2013 and 2022 in a bid to assist the country’s military in fight with an Islamist insurgency. The French government aborted the mission amid rapidly deteriorating ties with Mali’s military government and as Mali’s military called in Russian mercenary support.
Mali’s prime minister tried to turn the tables, however, repeatedly referring to France’s government as “the French junta.”
Last month, Mali accused France of arming Islamist militants without providing evidence. Maiga criticized the French military, which violated Malian airspace by sending drones, military helicopters and fighter planes more than 50 times and by providing information and arms to terrorist groups.
The Malian prime minister also offered a grim assessment of the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA.
“We must recognise that nearly 10 years after its establishment, the objectives for which MINUSMA was deployed in Mali have not been achieved,” Maiga said. “This is despite numerous Security Council resolutions.”
He openly praised the exemplary and fruitful cooperation between Mali and Russia and the influence of mercenaries from the Wagner Group.
Maiga said Malian transition authorities have no other aim but to carry out political and institutional reform before organizing elections and that the Malian people fully support the Government and the return to constitutional order.
