Credit / UN.ORG / MINUSMA/Marco Dormino /  UN Blue Helmets/ Senegalese UNPOL Officers patrol the streets of Gao, Mali UN MINUSMA peacekeeping mission.  Mali is considered  the world’s most dangerous UN missions, with nearly 130 blue helmets killed in the past six years.

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED NATIONS –  NEW YORK –   The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which supports political processes and reconciliation in the country, will continue operations despite this week’s military coup.  Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta resigned after a military mutiny that has plunged the west African nation into political chaos. The  (MINUSMA) peacekeeping force  maintains 15,451 military personnel in Mali.  Peacekeepers also carry out several security-related tasks to ensure stability and protection of civilians.

“Our colleagues on the ground are emphasizing that the work of the UN peacekeeping mission must and will continue in support of the people of Mali, and in close liaison with the Malians, including with the Malian security and defense forces in the north and centre, where the situation is still very worrying.”

-Stephane  Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres

MINUSMA is the Most Dangerous UN Operation in the World

Nearly 130 peacekeepers serving in MINUSMA have been killed in malicious acts, the UN chief told the Security Council in June. The mission was established in 2013 following a military coup and the occupation of northern Mali by radical Islamists the year before.

UN Security Council Strongly Condemns Military Coup, Urges Release of President

The UN Security Council Wednesday strongly condemned the military mutiny in Mali that led to the arrest and  forced resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.  The members of the Security Council held an emergency meeting on the crisis in Mali and expressed their deep concern regarding the recent political developments in the west African nation. They urged those mutineers to release safely and immediately all the officials detained and to return to their barracks without delay. They also underlined the urgent need to restore rule of law and to move towards the return to constitutional order.  UN Security Council members also reiterated their strong support to the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) initiatives and mediation efforts in Mali and expressed their support to the two ECOWAS communiqués of 18 August 2020 as well as to the one from the African Union Chairperson.