The military regime in Burkina Faso yesterday praised the request for the immediate withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) submitted by Bamako on Friday, seeing in this move a “courageous decision” that “conforms to the vision” of the Malian authorities in the fight against the jihadists, whose action affects the two neighboring countries.

“The government of Burkina Faso registers the demand that MINUSMA be ‘withdrawn without delay’ and welcomes this courageous decision taken by the transitional authorities of Mali,” government spokesman Rimtalba Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo said in a press release.

The government of Burkina Faso “congratulates” that of Mali for its “choice”, which “conforms to the strategic vision of the State of Mali in the fight against terrorism and for the restoration of peace and security in the Sahel”, it continues text made public by Mr. Ouedraogo.

Burkina Faso “encourages the government and the fraternal people of Mali in this reassertion of the national sovereignty of the state of Mali and in the expression of the will of the citizens (…) to be the only ones who will determine their destiny”, he added, calling on the international community to “strictly respect the choices” made by the military junta in Bamako.

On Friday, the head of Mali’s diplomacy, Abdoulaye Diop, called for the immediate withdrawal of MINUSMA from the UN Security Council, underlining its “failure” and the fact that it has now become, according to him, “part of the problem ».

As in Mali, Burkina Faso is ruled by the military, which took power in a coup against the backdrop of years of escalating violence by jihadist groups.

Moreover, Burkina Faso yesterday asked the UN Secretary General to take “useful decisions” on the “withdrawal” of its troops that are “deployed in Malo within the framework of MINUSMA”.

The government also said it “reaffirms its solidarity” with that of Mali and “with all the peoples of the Sahel in the fight against terrorism.”

The request for the withdrawal of the blue-collar forces was formulated against the background of the continued deterioration of the situation in Mali, not only in the field of security, where the activities of organizations close to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State continue, but also in the humanitarian field, as hundreds of thousands have been displaced people and millions need humanitarian assistance to get by this year.

The UN mission, present in Mali since 2013, is characterized as powerless by civilians and the military regime, despite having more than 12,000 troops deployed and an annual budget of $1.26 billion.