Mali’s diplomatic relations with its partners continue to deteriorate. A new episode that has just occurred suggests that this situation is likely to escalate. Indeed, this Wednesday, July 20, the military junta in power in Mali ordered the expulsion of the spokesman of the UN mission in Mali, accusing him of having made unacceptable statements concerning the case of the 49 soldiers Ivorians detained for more than a week in Bamako, according to an official press release. This strong decision on the part of the military junta in power comes in an already tense climate and is very badly perceived by Mali’s international partners, in particular by the United Nations. In New York, the United Nations, say that this decision is very regrettable. Thus, the deputy spokesman for the UN (UN) Farhan Haq clarified that the doctrine of persona non grata does not apply to UN agents and ended by indicating that “appropriate measures” will be taken, without specifying its nature. The Malian government notified the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Daniela Kroslak of “the decision” of Bamako “inviting Olivier Salgado, spokesperson for Minusma to leave the territory within 72 hours”, of after a press release sent to AFP. According to the Malian government, this decision follows the publication of biased and unacceptable information by Olivier Salgado on the social network Twitter. Olivier Salgado, according to Bamako, declared “without any proof, that the Malian authorities would have been informed beforehand of the arrival of the 49 Ivorian soldiers by civilian flight, at the international airport (of Bamako) on Sunday July 10, 2022”, according to the press release from the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Mali had been subject to economic and financial sanctions by ECOWAS which ended up lifting these sanctions, will we still see sanctions from the United Nations (UN) this time?
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