The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) units have left the base near the village of Tessalit in the Kidal region, northeastern Mali, according to a statement published by the UN mission on Sunday.
It was noted that the peacekeepers from Chad that are set to leave the base near the village of Aguelhok will join the mission along the way.
The mission said in the statement that the closure of the Tessalit camp represents MINUSMA's first pullout from the Kidal region and constitutes the sixth base shuttered under the Security Council resolution.
"The withdrawal took place according to schedule, but under extremely tense security conditions, with MINUSMA personnel in Tessalit forced to take shelter in bunkers on several occasions due to gunfire," read the statement.
Before departing, MINUSMA took "the difficult decision to destroy, deactivate or decommission" the valuable equipment, including vehicles, ammunition, generators, and other assets, because these items "could not be returned" to their respective troop-contributing countries or redeployed to other UN peacekeeping missions.
On June 30, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to end MINUSMA and fully withdraw the mission by the end of 2023. The decision came after the Malian government asked the United Nations to urgently withdraw MINUSMA from the country. The government said the UN mission's 10-year presence in Mali failed to adequately respond to the security situation there and contributed to the escalating tensions.
The first phase of the pullout process involved closing down MINUSMA's small posts and camps located in remote areas, including those in Timbuktu, Gao and Mopti. The second phase, which is now underway, will last until December 15. It focuses on the closure of six bases in northern, northeastern and central Mali.
By December, the mission's 12 camps and one temporary operating base are required to be closed and handed over to transitional authorities, while its uniformed personnel numbering about 13,000 to be repatriated. Civilian personnel will also be withdrawn, while equipment, some 5,500 sea containers and 4,000 vehicles, will be transferred to other missions or repatriated to the contributing countries.