Bamako, 31 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - The UN stabilization mission in Mali officially ends at the turn of the year following a decade of support, with the last soldiers already having returned to their bases.

The UN mission closed its last camps in Timbuktu over the past few days. The official closing ceremony was held on December 11 in the Malian capital Bamako.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was established in 2013 to support political processes in the West African country and carry out a number of security-related tasks.

But in June, Mali's military government demanded the withdrawal of all 12,000 UN peacekeepers, after Bamako moved to increase cooperation with Russia.

The UN Security Council followed up with steps to end the mission.

However, the withdrawal of some of the armed forces was affected by the military coup in neighbouring Niger in July. Germany maintains an air base in Niger. Before the coup, the German government had described Niger as an anchor of stability in West Africa.

The Mali mission had been dangerous, with more than 200 UN soldiers losing their lives. Two of those killed were German pilots, who died when their Tiger combat helicopter crashed in Mali. A further 12 German soldiers were wounded in a suicide attack in 2021. The Bundeswehr said around 20,000 German soldiers were involved in the UN mission over the years.

The end of the UN mission coincides with a persistently fragile security situation: Islamist terrorist groups, some of which are allied with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terrorist militia, are spreading in Mali and its neighbouring states.

A conflict between the state and separatist Tuareg rebels is also threatening to break out again.

Earlier in the year, the Malian army was fighting alongside Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group against Islamist groups and rebels from the Tuareg, who reneged on a 2015 peace deal.

With the withdrawal of the mission, Mali's army is trying to advance into regions that have not been under the state's control for more than a decade.

Photo: MIA archive