# Ivory Coast withdraws from Mali peacekeeping mission

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2022/11/ivory-coast-withdraws-from-mali-peacekeeping-mission/
- Published: 2022-11-19T16:51:36+01:00
- Author: Ekene Lionel

Ivory Coast will gradually pull out its forces and police from the United Nations
Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

According to Reuters, the withdrawal was confirmed by two senior Ivory Coast security
sources.

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Ivory Coast will no longer replace departing personnel in the MINUSMA force, according
to a Nov. 11 letter to a senior U.N. peacekeeping official which was seen by Reuters
on Tuesday.

“The Secretariat is in contact with Cote d’Ivoire regarding their participation 
in MINUSMA,” Deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said in an emailed response, thanking
the country for its support to Mali and U.N. peace operations.

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The withdrawal comes after former colonial power France, and then [Britain pulling out its 300 troops](https://www.military.africa/2022/11/uk-troops-pulls-out-of-un-mission-in-mali/)
from the peacekeeping force.

Ivory Coast is the sixth-largest military contributor to the force, with 857 troops,
according to MINUSMA figures. It is the eighth largest police contributor, with 
30 officers. MINUSMA is made up of nearly 18,000 personnel.

MINUSMA has been significantly constrained by Mali’s junta since it came to power
in a 2020 coup.

A minor diplomatic scuffle between both countries in July left 46 Ivorian soldiers
detained by Mali. Mali accused them of being mercenaries. Ivory Coast countered 
that they are peacekeepers, and made repeated pleas for their release.

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In August, [France withdrew its troops ](https://www.military.africa/2021/06/france-ends-operation-barkhane-for-international-coalition/)
which have been in Mali for more than a decade, after a [dispute about Malian air space violations](https://www.military.africa/2022/04/mali-protests-repeated-airspace-violation-by-france/),
and the presence of hundreds of Russian mercenaries from the Kremlin-linked Wagner
Group

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