The Britain government on Monday announced that it has decided to withdraw its troops from Mali six months earlier than planned, reported The Reuters.
UK’s Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said the 300-strong contingent, which was taking part in the United Nations peace-making mission in Mali (MINUSMA), will end its three-year deployment in Mali early. He did not give a timeline.
Heappey told the Britain parliament that recent coups in Mali had undermined international efforts to restore peace in the West African country, which has seen growing violence in recent years by groups linked to various militant groups including Al-Qaeda and Daesh.
“This government cannot deploy our nation’s military to provide security when the host countries government is not willing to work with us to deliver lasting stability and security,” Heappey said.
He added that the Malian’s government’s link with Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, which has also been linked to human rights abuses, was counterproductive to security in the region.
Heappey assured that the UK’s commitment to work with the UN in West Africa would continue. Britain had sent its troops to Mali in 2020 to provide support to the UN peacekeeping mission.
The withdrawal follows French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement made in February that his nation is shifting its forces from Mali to Niger. In August, Germany also suspended its military mission to Mali.
“We are leaving the MINUSMA mission earlier than planned and are, of course, saddened by the way the government in Bamako has made it so difficult for well-meaning nations to remain there,” Heappey said.
The United Nations peacemaking mission in Mali (MINUSMA), made up of nearly 12,000 peacekeepers, was intended to stabilize Mali and support its transitional government in organizing elections for 2024 after a military coup in 2020. British troops were deployed to Gao in 2020.
