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Burkina Hails Mali's 'Courageous' Call for Exit of UN Force

© AP Photo / Sam MednickA Burkinabe soldier walks past a French Armoured Personnel Carrier part of a French military convoy heading to Niger, stopped by protesters in Kaya, Burkina Faso, Saturday Nov. 20, 2021
A Burkinabe soldier walks past a French Armoured Personnel Carrier part of a French military convoy heading to Niger, stopped by protesters in Kaya, Burkina Faso, Saturday Nov. 20, 2021 - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 19.06.2023
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Burkina Faso on Sunday hailed the "courageous decision" by Mali's military regime to call on the UN to withdraw its Minusma peacekeeping force, as both countries fight a jihadist insurgency.
Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop on Friday had called for the immediate withdrawal of the multinational force from the country.
Burkinabe government spokesman Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said in a statement Ouagadougou "hails this courageous decision taken by the transitional Mali authorities" and "congratulates" Mali for its choice.
The decision was "in conformity with the strategic decision of the Malian state in the fight against terrorism and for the restoration of peace and security in the Sahel", the statement added.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, or MINUSMA, was created in 2013, taking over from an African-led mission as Mali was in the grip of an Islamist rebellion that continues today.

Burkina Faso backed Mali's move to assert its sovereignty so Malians could be "the sole masters of their destiny", he said, calling on the international community to respect Mali's choice.
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Diop, Mali's Foreign Minister, on Friday told the United Nations: "MINUSMA seems to have become part of the problem by fueling community tensions exacerbated by extremely serious allegations which are highly detrimental to peace, reconciliation and national cohesion in Mali."
"This situation generates a feeling of distrust among the populations with regard to Minusma," he added.
Like Mali, Burkina Faso is run by a military regime that came to power in a coup. Both countries are fighting a long running jihadist insurgency.
Burkina Faso's regime on Sunday called on the United Nations to take the necessary steps for the withdrawal of Burkinabe troops serving in Mali as part of MINUSMA.

Mali has been under military rule since an August 2020 coup -- and has been battling a security crisis since jihadist and separatist insurgencies broke out in the north in 2012.

On Sunday, Malians voted on a new constitution in the ruling military transition's first electoral test.
MINUSMA, which has been present in Mali since 2013, has been criticized for its inability to protect civilians from jihadist attacks, despite deploying a force of more than 12,000 soldiers. Its annual budget is $1.26 billion.
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