ANP
European countries are turning away from the UN mission in Mali, but it is important that Europe remains involved in the country. So says Lieutenant General Kees Matthijssen, who until recently led the military component of the UN mission in Mali.
“It is good to realize that the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating,” says Matthijssen. “In Mali we are dealing with more than 450,000 displaced people, in the entire Sahel region more than 3 million. That number is rapidly increasing. If we continue at this rate at the end of the year, we will have 650,000 in Mali.”
In this way, a large young generation is growing up with little or no perspective, says Matthijssen. “They will look for other ways to still have perspective in life. It is quite possible that we will be affected by this in Europe through migration.”
Moreover, this vulnerable young group is becoming more susceptible to jihadist groups that may be able to provide them with a livelihood if they fight with them, says Matthijssen.
ANP
There has been war in Mali for more than ten years. Large parts of the country are ravaged by jihadist terrorist groups and there are enormous humanitarian problems. In recent years, the country has also been turned upside down politically: after two coups, a military junta is in power.
With the MINUSMA mission, the United Nations is trying to bring stability to the country and to monitor human rights. But that mission is in jeopardy. Important partner countries such as Sweden, the United Kingdom, Ivory Coast and Germany have withdrawn or are leaving earlier than planned. Egypt, also an important partner, is still in doubt. Two other missions also ended early last year: the French mission Barkhane and the EU mission Takuba.
I think the Russians are doing everything they can to reduce or counteract Western influence. And that works.
The Malian authorities are making the mission’s work increasingly difficult, for example by not allowing UN troops to fly without permission. They think the mission’s mandate is not strong enough and want the military to be more active in tracking down and eliminating jihadists. At the same time, they have problems with the mission’s human rights goals.
“They want to be respected in their sovereignty, the choices they make and the vital interests of the country,” says Matthijssen. “Under those conditions, all help is welcome, but if you do not wish to conform to it, you are not welcome.”
Another problem for many partners of the UN mission is the increasingly close relationship between the Malian regime and Russia. Mercenaries of the infamous Russian Wagner Group are said to be present in the country with about a thousand troops. The authorities hope that the Russians will be more successful against the jihadists, although they say that there is only talk of arms deliveries and military training.
Human rights violations
But there is a price to be paid for that presence: Wagner mercenaries are said to be guilty of human rights violations. The French Army released images which would show Wagner soldiers burying bodies of dead Malians. The Russian mercenaries are believed to be involved in more than a third of the 2,000 civilian deaths caused by violence.
From a political point of view, it obviously causes problems for the Malians to choose such a partner, says Matthijssen. “But I can well understand why the Malians were looking for a partner to assist, advise and training on the job offers, because the international community has never offered them,” says Matthijssen. “The UN cannot do it because of the mandate. The EU training mission also failed. So the Malians have been looking for a partner to help them with that.”
earn money
It is good to distinguish between the Russian interest and that of the Wagner Group, says Matthijssen. “There is also Russian-Malian cooperation. Mali buys Russian stuff, they have also trained officers in Russia, in the past. I think the Russians have an interest in Mali for economic reasons, for the raw materials that can be found there , also simply to make money. And I think the Russians are doing everything they can to reduce or counter Western influence. And they are succeeding.”
The head of the MINUSMA mission will soon present an evaluation report to the UN Security Council, which will include several scenarios for the future of the mission. In a leaked draft version of the report says that the mission is unsustainable without additional military personnel, which indicates that stopping the mission is a realistic option.
