UN Security Council ends peacekeeping mission in Mali

The United Nations Security Council voted on Friday to end a decade-long peacekeeping mission in Mali after the West African country's military junta abruptly asked the 13,000-strong force two weeks ago to leave "without delay."

The end of the operation, known as MINUSMA, follows years of tensions and government restrictions that have hobbled peacekeeping air and ground operations since Mali teamed up with Russia's Wagner mercenary group in 2021. The 15-member council adopted a French-drafted resolution asking the mission to start on Saturday "the cessation of its operations, transfer of its tasks, as well as the orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal of its personnel, with the objective of completing this process by Dec. 31, 2023."