Cambodia Withdraws Nearly 100 Blue Helmet Troops from Mali Due to Tense Security Situation: PM
Soldiers hold the UN and Malian flags during the ceremony of Peacekeepers' Day at the operating base of MINUSMA (The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali) in Bamako on May 29, 2018. Photo: Xinhua/AFP
- By Xinhua News Agency
- October 26, 2023 9:50 AM
KAMPONG CHAM – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Wednesday that at the request of the United Nations (UN), the kingdom had withdrawn nearly 100 blue helmet troops from the war-torn African nation of Mali due to tense security context.
"A few days ago, I had approved the withdrawal of our blue helmet troops from Mali, as the UN had begun to evacuate troops from some areas there," he said in a speech during a meeting with thousands of garment factory workers in Kampong Cham province.
"They could not stay there anymore because even the UN blue helmet troops were also attacked," he added.
Hun Manet said the Southeast Asian country also destroyed assets there such as vehicles and equipment before the pull-out.
Following a military coup, the transitional government of Mali requested the withdrawal of the 10-year-old UN operation.
The UN Security Council complied with a June 30 resolution for the peacekeeping mission to be withdrawn by Dec. 31 of this year.
