 | |
| Abbreviation | MINUSMA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 25 April 2013 |
| Dissolved | 30 June 2023 |
| Type | Peacekeeping mission |
| Legal status | Dissolved |
| Headquarters | Bamako, Mali |
Special Representatives of the Secretary-general (SRSGs) and Heads of MINUSMA | Bert Koenders (July 2013 – October 2014);Mongi Hamdi (January 2014 - December 2014);Mahamat Saleh Annadif (December 2015 – April 2021); El-Ghassim Wane (April 2021 - December 2023) |
Parent organization | United Nations Security Council |
| Website | Official website in English |
TheUnited Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (French:Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali,MINUSMA)[1] was aUnited Nationspeacekeeping mission inMali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 byUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise the country after theTuareg rebellion of 2012,[2] and was terminated over a decade later on 30 June 2023.[3] Officially deployed on 1 July 2013, MINUSMA was the UN's deadliest peacekeeping mission.[4] While UNIFIL, the mission in Lebanon, has lost more peacekeepers overall, by incident type the majority of those deaths at 135 are officially listed as "accidents."[4][5] At 175 deaths by "malicious act," MINUSMA was officially the deadliest Peacekeeping mission of all time.[4][5]
During MINUSMA's existence, there were two further international peace operations in Mali. These were theEuropean Union missionsEUCAP Sahel Mali andEUTM Mali.
In 2012,Tuareg and other peoples in northern Mali'sAzawad region started an insurgency in the north under the banner of theNational Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. After some initial successes and complaints from theMalian Army that it was ill-equipped to fight the insurgents, who had benefited from an influx of heavy weaponry from the2011 Libyan civil war as well as other sources, elements of the armystaged a military coup d'état on 21 March 2012.[6] Following the coup, the rebels made further advances to capture the three biggest cities in the north:Gao,Timbuktu andKidal.[7] Following economic sanctions and a blockade by theEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the country, a deal, brokered inBurkina Faso by PresidentBlaise Compaoré under the auspices of ECOWAS, was signed that would seeAmadou Sanogo cede power toDioncounda Traoré to assume the presidency in aninterim capacity until an election is held.[8]
On 1 July 2013, 6,000 of a future total of 12,600 UN peacekeeping troops officially took over responsibility for patrolling the country's north fromFrance and theECOWAS'International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA).[9] The group was expected to play a role in the2013 Malian presidential election.[10] The force was the third largest UN peacekeeping force in operation in the world as of 2013.[11]
On 16 June 2023, theForeign Minister of Mali requested that the United Nations terminate MINUSMA due to what he called its "failure" to stabilize the situation there.[12] The mission was officially terminated on 30 June 2023,[3] with all UN forces due to leave Mali by 31 December 2023.[13]
Its headquarters were in the Malian capital city,Bamako.Military intelligence was evaluated by the Force Headquarters U2-Intelligence Section.[14]
The force was led byDanish Major GeneralMichael Lollesgaard in 2015 and 2016,Belgian Major GeneralJean-Paul Deconinck until 2 October 2018, after which he was succeeded by Lieutenant GeneralDennis Gyllensporre ofSweden.[15][16] The force commander in November 2021 wasDutch Lieutenant-General Johannes Matthijssen.[17]
As of 30 September 2021[update], countries contributing with police and military personnel were:[18][19]
Chad – 1466 personnel
Bangladesh – 1399 personnel
Senegal – 1340 personnel
Togo – 1232 personnel
Egypt – 1225 personnel
Burkina Faso – 1105 personnel
Niger – 902 personnel
Ivory Coast – 827 personnel
Guinea – 678 personnel
Germany – 435 personnel
China – 426 personnel
Benin – 420 personnel
Jordan – 345 personnel
Cambodia – 289 personnel
United Kingdom – 256 personnel
Sri Lanka – 242 personnel
Nigeria – 224 personnel
Pakistan – 217 personnel
Nepal – 202 personnel
Sweden – 190 personnel
El Salvador – 176 personnel
Liberia – 162 personnel
Ghana – 158 personnel
Tunisia – 103 personnel
Portugal – 69 personnel
Belgium – 53 personnel
Lithuania – 49 personnel
France – 34 personnel
Canada – 18 personnel
Sierra Leone – 18 personnel
Norway – 17 personnel
Switzerland – 13 personnel
Ireland – 12 personnel
Ukraine – 12 personnel
Gambia – 11 personnel
Cameroon – 19 personnel
Kenya – 10 personnel
Indonesia – 9 personnel
Netherlands – 9 personnel
Finland – 8 personnel
United States – 8 personnel
Mauritania – 7 personnel
Turkey – 7 personnel
Bhutan – 5 personnel
Italy – 5 personnel
Romania – 5 personnel
Czech Republic – 4 personnel
Mexico – 4 personnel
Spain – 3 personnel
Zambia – 3 personnel
Austria – 2 personnel
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 2 personnel
Denmark – 2 personnel
Estonia – 2 personnel
Guatemala – 2 personnel
Iran – 2 personnel
Luxembourg – 2 personnel
Armenia – 1 personnel
Australia – 1 personnel
Burundi – 1 personnel
Dominican Republic – 1 personnel
Ethiopia – 1 personnel
Gabon – 1 personnel
Latvia – 1 personnel
Vietnam – 1 personnel | This section mayrequirecleanup to meet Wikipedia'squality standards. The specific problem is:Most paragraphs start with a date. Please helpimprove this section if you can.(June 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In October 2013, a suicide bomber attacked the Chadian soldiers resulting in the death of two soldiers.[20]
On 13 December, two Senegalese peacekeepers were killed at a bombing outside theMalian Solidarity Bank inKidal a day before the second round of theMalian parliamentary election, 2013.[21]
In October 2014, 10 soldiers were killed, nine fromNiger and one from Senegal near Gao and Kidal respectively, bringing the total number of dead soldiers from the mission to 21 with dozens more wounded. It also preceded Malian Foreign MinisterAbdoulaye Diop calling for theUNSC to send a rapid deployment force to the country claiming that there was an increase indrug traffickers andIslamist fighters. UN Peacekeeping chiefHervé Ladsous also spoke to the UNSC fromBamako, where he attend a memorial service for the dead soldiers. He added that a combination of factors has led to the increase in attacks on UN troops, including the drawdown of French forces and a perceived lack of Malian security forces, as such MINUSMA, being the main international presence in the area, was a target. He further noted that the UN was no longer working in apeacekeeping environment, but sought to increase protection of the mission's staff, equipment and bases.[22]
On 20 January 2019 the MINUSMA base atAguelhok was attacked by militants. The attack was repelled but 10 Chadian UN peacekeepers were killed and a further 25 injured.[23][24] The militants had arrived on board a number of armed vehicles. Several of the attackers are said to have been killed.[25] Responsibility was claimed byAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb who stated that it was a retaliatory attack for the recent visit to Chad by Israeli prime ministerBenjamin Netanyahu and the subsequent revival ofChad–Israel diplomatic relations.[25][26] UN Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres condemned the attack.[27]
On 25 January 2019 three Sri Lankan peacekeepers were killed, while another three were injured, when their armoured vehicle came under an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack, in the general area of Douentza in Mali.[28]
TheUnited Nations reported that attacks in the northernMali against a UN convoy killed three peacekeepers from Chad and injured four others. Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres and UN spokesmanStephane Dujarric criticized the attacks, and said that they could account towar crimes as per the international law.[29]
On 10 May 2020 three UN MINUSMA peacekeepers were killed in action near Aguelhok.[30]
As of 31 March 2020, 209 MINUSMA troops died.[5]
Twenty MINUSMA troops were wounded, some seriously, in attacks by rebels inDouentza, Mopti, on 10 February2021.[31]
On 30 March 2021, MINUSMA published a report that concluded a French air strike on 3 January 2021 on the remote village of Bounti in Sahel state, killed at least 22 people, 19 of whom were civilians. The strike was carried out under Operation Eclipse – a joint operation involving armed forces fromMali,France and theG5 Sahel. French military have denied wrongdoing saying the strike, by a Mirage 2000 bomber, had "neutralised" dozens of jihadists in a precision attack.[32]
On 3 October 2021, one Egyptian peacekeeper was killed, four of his colleagues seriously injured, in an IED attack.[33]
On 5 December 2021, two explosions hit MINUSMA barracks inGao. The French army said there was only material damage and did not provide details about any possible origin of the blasts.[34]
On 8 December 2021, seven MINUSMA peacekeepers were killed when their convoy hit an improvised explosive device in central Mali, in theBandiagara area in theMopti region when driving between the towns ofDouentza andSévaré. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.[35][36]
On 1 June 2022, a Jordanian member of the MINUSMA peacekeeping force was killed and three more injured inKidal Region, Mali.[37]
From 1 November to 4 November 2023, 37 peacekeepers were injured after six IED attacks on their convoy, which was departing them fromKidal.[38][39]
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