Forty-eight hours after leaving their camp in the town of Tessalit on October 21, 2023, Chadian peacekeepers of the United Nations Mission in Mali (Minusma) are still on the move towards the city of Gao.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (Minusma) is progressing with its disengagement on the ground in Mali, to exit Malian territory before December 31.
Togolese peacekeepers, stationed in Douentza, a city in central Mali, moved further south on Sunday, October 22. The departure of peacekeepers is also ongoing in the Kidal region.
Forty-eight hours after leaving their camp in Tessalit, Chadian peacekeepers are still in transit towards the city of Gao.
According to the established plan, their troops, based in the locality of Aguelhok, will join the ground convoy. In the northeast, the Minusma camp in Kidal will be the last to be evacuated.
Rebels, part of the coalition known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD), currently control the city and have made it clear that they intend to prevent regular troops from occupying the soon-to-be former UN mission base in the area.
Operating in a hostile environment, the peacekeepers are expediting their departure. Non-transportable equipment is being destroyed due to time constraints. This includes some munitions and generators. In other cases, valuable equipment has been disabled.