Germany, the UK, and Ivory Coast have announced the withdrawal of their troops from Mali.
The withdrawals have raised concerns that a security vacuum will be created in the region, where groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have already branched into Mali's neighbours and moved into coastal states south of the Sahel.
The sources agree that Germany, the UK, and Ivory Coast are withdrawing their troops from Mali due to rising Islamist activity and Russian military presence. They also agree that the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali has been unable to prevent the country from falling under the control of an Islamic extremist insurgency linked to groups including al-Qaida and Islamic State. The sources differ in their portrayal of the Malian government's partnership with the Wagner Group, with some describing it as a reason for the withdrawals and others describing it as exacerbating tensions. The sources also differ in their coverage of the Accra Initiative security conference, with some mentioning it as a forum for discussing regional solutions to the conflict in Mali and others not mentioning it at all.
Since 2012, Mali has been fighting a jihadist insurgency against groups aligned to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State. The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali was intended to stabilize the country and support its transitional government in organizing elections for 2024 after a military coup in 2020. The withdrawals follow similar moves by other Western nations, including former colonial power France, and have raised concerns that a security vacuum will be created in the region.
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