The UN mission in Mali, forced to withdraw from the crisis-ravaged country last year, will be completely finished by mid-November, the ruling junta has said.

The UN stabilization mission (MINUSMA) had been in place since 2013 but ended on December 31 after Mali’s military leaders ordered it to leave amid deteriorating relations.

It had previously kept around 15,000 soldiers and police in the fragile and poor West African country, plagued by jihadist violence and other crises.

As part of a so-called liquidation phase since January, the last equipment has been handed over to the authorities or evacuated and the final contracts have been concluded.

“This phase ends on November 15, 2024, with the handover of the Bamako camp and the repatriation of all international civilian personnel, contingents and equipment, thus marking the definitive withdrawal of MINUSMA,” the council indicated on Wednesday. ministers in a press release.

Mali’s ruling junta, which seized power in a 2020 coup, has accused the UN mission of “stoking community tensions”.

He also severed ties with former colonial ruler France, who had helped fight jihadist insurgents in the north, and who has since turned to Russia for political and military assistance.

More than 180 MINUSMA members have been killed in attacks, most blamed on armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.