AA/Bamako/AmaranaMaiga
Some 302 civilians were killed, 47 kidnapped or missing and 56 injured in Mali between June 3 and September 19, 2022, according to the UN Secretary General’s quarterly report.
Many cases of arbitrary arrests and detentions have also been recorded, particularly in the context of military operations in Mali, indicates the same report presented on Tuesday to members of the Security Council in New on the sidelines of an ordinary meeting attended by the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Abdoulaye Diop.
Diop had come to outline Mali’s observations in an 18-page memorandum.
The United Nations Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in Mali (Minusma) explained in the report that “most of these alleged violations and abuses occurred in the regions of Bandiagara (106 cases), Ménaka (70), Ségou ( 42), Mopti (40), Gao (35), Koulikoro (19), Timbuktu (17), Koutiala (10), Douentza (4), Kayes (4) and San (4).
“The situation continues to be characterized by allegations of violations of international human rights law and related abuses as well as violations of international humanitarian law perpetrated by extremist armed groups (2 97), vigilante militias ( 23), signatory armed groups (27) and unidentified armed elements (3)” explains the report.
The same source emphasizes having documented 55 alleged violations attributed to the Malian Defense and Security Forces, accompanied in some cases by foreign military personnel, during the conduct of military operations in
the center.
For his part, Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdoulaye Diop calls for better coordination of United Nations support, through Minusma and country teams, including within the framework of the Global Strategy for the Stabilization of the Center, adopted in the Council of Ministers on August 24, 2022.
According to Malian diplomacy, this report would have gained in objectivity if it provided more information on the Government’s efforts, which are also regularly crowned with success on the ground, in the context of securing the national territory and protecting the civilian population. Indeed, it is regrettable that in many instances, the report only mentions the actions of terrorist armed groups, without providing information on the reactions of the FAMa (Malian Armed Forces).
The Government invites the United Nations Secretariat to move away from this negative and hostile stance and to adopt the approach that justifies its presence in Mali: helping Malian men and women to face and overcome the difficulties related to the security crisis.
Nicolas de Rivière, permanent representative of France to the United Nations, called on Mali to renew relations of cooperation and trust with its partners in the sub-region to oppose a united front to this cross-border threat. I
For its part, Russia expressed its concern regarding “destabilization attempts aimed at transforming the Sahel into a theater of geopolitical confrontations foreign to the region and contrary to the interests of these States and peoples. The strong negative reactions of the West to the strengthening of cooperation between Russia and Mali are once more paternalistic approaches and double standards on the part of the former large metropolises”.
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