The UN Minusma mission ended its ten-year presence in Mali on Sunday, during which the UN secretary-general said it supported the peace process in the crisis-ridden country, where the military regime has finally decided to leave, AFP reported. .

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Sunday that Minusma had “completed its withdrawal from the country by 31 December” 2023, as agreed with the military in power in Mali.

Guterres praised the “key role” played by Minusma “in ensuring the ceasefire under the 2015 peace and reconciliation agreement (between Bamako and rebel groups in the north) and the transition” in the country, where the military took power by force in 2020 year.

The end of Minusma ended the commitment that began in 2013 to spread jihadism, which threatened the stability of the poor and fragile state, and it continues today.

The violence has spread to Niger’s neighboring Sahel country of Burkina Faso, killing thousands of civilians and combatants and displacing millions.

The UN chief also “paid tribute to the 311 members of Minusma who died and more than 700 were wounded in the service of peace during the 10 years of the mission in Mali” during attacks carried out mainly by groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State “, his statement reads.

Minusma was the most affected UN mission in recent years. His forces numbered about 15,000 soldiers and policemen from dozens of countries.

Despite significant financial commitments, Minusma has come under heavy criticism from some Malians for failing to contain the crisis.

UN representatives have always denied that Minusma’s mission was not to fight jihadists. His mandate was to support the implementation of a major peace agreement with northern separatists (non-jihadists); help Malian authorities stabilize the center, another hotbed of violence; as well as for the protection of civilians and human rights.