Separatist Tuareg rebels in northern Mali claim to have taken over a camp evacuated by the UN in the strategic town of Kidal, a significant development in an ongoing battle for territory.
Tuaregs occupied the camp immediately after it was vacated by the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma, a local official confirmed to French news agency AFP on Tuesday.
The Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP) – an alliance of armed, predominantly Tuareg groups in northern Mali that recently revived a rebellion against the state – said in a statement that it was "now taking control of the areas abandoned by Minusma in Kidal".
A convoy of peacekeepers had earlier left the camp in Kidal in a column of more than a hundred vehicles, heading for Gao, another key town in the north about 330 kilometres away, Minusma officials told AFP.
It is the eighth camp evacuated by the mission out of a total of 13, according to RFI's Mali correspondent Serge Daniel, and the third and last camp to be vacated in the Kidal region after others at Tessalit and Aguelhok.
The area has been wracked by separatist violence for months, as well as attacks by jihadists.
Tuareg stronghold
Minusma's withdrawal, underway since August, has exacerbated tensions between the military and the rebel groups.
The mission hoped to ensure that its camps were handed over to the Malian military, according to the rules of peacekeeping operations, but this proved to be a difficult task.
The Tuareg rebels have been fighting the ruling junta since August. They have declared themselves at war with the military in what they call their homeland, or Azawad, in northern Mali.
Mali's army said on social media that "once again and with much regret", Minusma was leaving without handing over the camp to the authorities.
It is not clear if the Malian army will try to regain control of the region or not.
Mali's prime minister, Choguel Maïga, recently declared: "We are determined to control the entire extent of our national territory."
Members of the CSP told RFI that they were expecting further attacks from the Malian regular forces, but by drone, not on the ground.
Difficult withdrawal
The Kidal region has long been the centre of rebellions demanding independence from Mali's national government.
Separatist groups had agreed to a ceasefire and a peace deal with previous authorities in 2014 and 2015, but in the past three months they have resumed hostilities against Mali's junta, which seized power in a coup in 2020.
The fighting only increased in the lead-up to Minusma's withdrawal, as the Tuaregs do not want the peacekeepers to hand over their camps to the Malian army.
The final departure from Kidal was initially planned for the second half of November, but a deterioration in security has pushed Minusma to accelerate its withdrawal from all bases, to the junta's annoyance.
Minusma said in a statement that the conditions of its departure had been "extremely difficult and challenging".
It cited the "deteriorating security situation and the multiple threats to peacekeepers", as well as the difficulty of conducting air operations to extract personnel.
#PressRelease - MINUSMA closes its camp in Kidal, marking the end of its presence in the region.
— MINUSMA (@UN_MINUSMA) October 31, 2023
📖👉🏿 https://t.co/qkozu4sgcC pic.twitter.com/zs0mAvMp2D
The situation has forced the mission to undertake long and dangerous journeys by road.
A spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters in New York that the convoy from Kidal had hit two improvised explosive devices along the way, but no one had been injured.
Alleged abuses
The NGO Human Rights Watch also warned this week that "Islamist armed groups and Malian armed forces have killed and abused numerous civilians in central and northern Mali since April 2023".
In recent months Islamist fighters have killed more than 160 civilians, including at least 24 children, the group says, while it states that Malian armed forces have killed up to 40 civilians, including at least 16 children, during counterinsurgency operations.
"The Malian government has failed to take adequate measures to protect civilians in conflict affected areas," Human Rights Watch alleges, calling for a full investigation.
(with newswires)
