About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 [1] (August 15, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemnw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: CongressionaI Research Serice informino theLovilative debat sico 1914 Updated August 15, 2023 Crisis in Mali Once seen as a regional democratic leader, Mali has become an epicenter of conflict and instability over the past decade. Insurgent groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State operate widely and have spread across Mali's borders. Other armed groups, ethnic militias, and criminal bands are also active, some with apparent state backing. A military junta seized power in 2020 and ousted civilian transition leaders the following year-heralding a wave of coups in the region. The junta has overseen major shifts in Mali's foreign relations and security partnerships, embracing Russia and rejecting former colonial power France along with U.N. peacekeepers. In 2021, the junta contracted with Russia's Wagner Group, a nominally private military company (PMC), to assist counterinsurgency operations. In 2022, amid a diplomatic rift with Bamako, France withdrew over 2,000 troops from Mali, ending a decadelong U.S.- supported counterterrorism operation. In June 2023, Bamako called for the withdrawal of the U.N. peacekeeping operation in Mali, MINUSMA. Malian officials had previously placed growing restrictions on MINUSMA, hindering its ability to fulfill its mandate. In early 2023, Mali expelled the top U.N. human rights official. Wagner's entry and MINUSMA's pending exit have strained an already fragile 2015 peace deal between the government and northern separatist rebels; clashes between the military and signatory groups erupted in the north in August 2023. Colonel Assimi Goita, a member of Mali's special forces, is serving as Mali's Transition President, and populist politician Choguel Maiga as the junta-appointed prime minister. Military officers hold key cabinet posts and lead the interim legislature. Under pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which imposed broad economic sanctions for six months in 2022, the junta agreed to hold elections in February 2024 in which current leaders would not be candidates. Whether Mali will adhere to these commitments is uncertain, however. A new constitution adopted by referendum in June 2023 concentrates power in the presidency and could pave the way for Goita to run for president. Although the junta has struggled to improve security and address economic hardships, it has arguably drawn popular support from its face-off with France, the U.N., separatist groups, and other West African leaders. Rights groups accuse the junta and its supporters of intimidating and repressing critics; the government has also banned or suspended several French and local media outlets. Bamako has sought to drive a wedge within ECOWAS, rejecting regional sanctions on neighboring Niger in response to a military seizure of power there in July 2023, and pledging to defend Niger's junta against a threatened regional military intervention. In 2022, Mali withdrew from the G5 Sahel, a donor-backed grouping that had sought to coordinate military operations. Figure 1. Mali at a Glance Source: CRS graphic. Data from CIA World Factbook, IMF, UNAIDS. Background. Mali has been in crisis since 2012, when a northern separatist rebellion led by members of the minority ethnic Tuareg community paved the way for a military coup and an Islamist insurgent advance. Rebels-bolstered by arms from Libya and fighters with ties to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)-declared an independent state of Azawad in the north. By mid-2012, AQIM and two allied groups had outmaneuvered the separatists to assert control over much of the north. At the transitional government's request, France deployed its military in early 2013 to counter an Islamist insurgent advance and ousted insurgent leaders from major towns in the north. A U.N. peacekeeping operation, MINUSMA, was established in mid-2013 to help stabilize the country, absorbing a nascent African-led intervention force. Veteran politician Ibrahim Boubacar Kdita was elected president, at which point donors, including the United States, normalized relations with Bamako. French forces transitioned into Operation Barkhane, a regional counterterrorism mission that received U.S. military logistical support, in 2014. Under international pressure to reach a peace deal in the north, the government signed an accord in 2015 with two armed coalitions: one led by ex-separatists, and the other by pro-unity groups with ties to Bamako. Mediated by Algeria with international backing, the accord aimed to address Tuareg political grievances, reestablish state authority in the north, demobilize rebel fighters, promote northern economic development, and isolate designated terrorist groups, which were not party to the talks. Implementation lagged, however, and signatory groups maintained parallel governance structures. Meanwhile, armed groups multiplied and Islamist insurgencies expanded into central Mali.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most