Even as several countries have announced pullout from UN peackeeping operations in Mali, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have agreed to helicopter units to the UN peacekeeping operations in the West African country where the government is battling Islamist terrorists.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Wednesday that the utility helicopter unit from India that is to be deployed in March will “provide much-needed support to our forces and are critical for early warning and rapid response to protect civilians”. Bangladesh and Pakistan too will be sending an armed helicopter unit each to the operation known as Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

India does not have troops deployed with MINUSMA, but 18 Indians worked with it as of September. MINUSMA, set up in 2013, has 17,622 personnel. Haq said, “The UN continues to discuss with member states the deployment of new assets and plans to fill longer-standing gaps in addition to those resulting from recent announcements” of withdrawals. 

Several countries have pulled out of or announced plans to withdraw from the peacekeeping operations in Mali. MINUSMA is one of the deadliest operations having claimed the lives of 292 peacekeepers. 

France completed its withdrawal earlier this year and it was followed by Egypt in August. Germany said that it was withdrawing its personnel, who numbered 595 in the latest UN roster, from MINUSMA by May next year. Britain is also pulling out its 249 personnel.

Ivory Coast also said that it would discontinue the participation of its personnel, who numbered 898, in MINUSMA when the current deployment ends because of a separate dispute with the Mali government over the arrest of its soldiers who went there on a mission unconnected to the UN.

(SAM)