Politics

Mali suspends all UN police, military contingents on its land. Can Bamako survive it?

Published

2 years ago

July 14, 2022

Malian authorities have suspended all rotations of the military and police contingents of the United Nations Mission in Mali (UNMIS).

According to a statement by the foreign ministry of the junta which has continued its position of severing foreign relations, the suspension includes UN mission that are already scheduled.

The statement further revealed that the decision also applies until “the organisation of a meeting” by the Malian side, the date of which was not communicated, to “facilitate the coordination and regulation” of the rotation of these contingents.

The decision comes after authorities in Bamako arrested 49 soldiers from Ivory Coast on Monday and labelled them “mercenaries”, claiming that the soldiers came to Mali to work for a contracting company of the United Nations mission.

Ivory Coast government earlier on Thursday denied claims by Mali that its 49 soldiers arrested at Mali’s international airport four days earlier posed a threat to the country.

The Ivorian Minister of Communication, Amadou Coulibaly, while speaking after a weekly cabinet meeting said the Malian government being a military junta should know better that the 49 soldiers pose no actual threat.

In the wake of the recent suspension, Mali assured UNMISMA that it will work “diligently to create the conditions for the lifting of this suspension measure”, the statement said.

The mandate of UNMISMA, which has been present in Mali since 2013 with some 13,000 troops, was renewed for a year on 29 June, but with Mali “firmly opposing” the freedom of movement of peacekeepers for human rights investigations.

Mali under the current Junta of Colonel Goita has been on a thread of breaking diplomatic relations with allies. With its current security challenge due to terrorist activities in some part of its regions, it left how much Bamako would achieve in recent “isolationism” approach to foreign relations.

Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.