Following the departure of the UN peacekeeping operation from Mali, Norway will close its embassy in the country, the Oslo Foreign Ministry stated.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that the departure of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) would have “consequences for the security of Norwegian and other diplomatic missions and international organizations in Mali.”
By the end of the year, the change would become official, it added.
The ministry further said maintaining normal diplomatic ties with the West African country would become more difficult.
MINUSMA is to be withdrawn by the end of the year at the request of Mali’s military government.
The Norwegian embassy in Bamako also represents Norway’s interests in Burkina Faso, Mauretania, Niger, and Chad.
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry stated that it is working on alternatives to keep its presence in the region.
The Malian military government has requested the support of the Wagner squad of Russian mercenaries since assuming power in 2021.
It asked in June that all 12,000 UN troops assigned to MINUSMA withdraw.
Following a war with terrorists and Tuareg rebels in the country’s north in 2012, the UN mission was established.
Since then, the jihadists have spread into Burkina Faso and Niger.
All three countries are now ruled by the military and have abandoned France, the former colonial power that has maintained a major presence in the region.
