UN Official To Leave Mali For Perceived Separatist Sympathy

A United Nations official is set to leave Mali by Wednesday, according to the government, after provoking outrage by appearing to back Tuareg independence in the strife-torn north

Bamako, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Dec, 2019 ) :A United Nations official is set to leave Mali by Wednesday, according to the government, after provoking outrage by appearing to back Tuareg independence in the strife-torn north.

The official, Christophe Sivillon, headed the UN office in the northern town of Kidal until he was forced to step down Monday in the wake of comments he made at a pro-independence party conference.

Mali's current unrest began in 2012 when ethnic Tuareg separatists rebelled in the north of the country -- a region they name Azawad -- triggering a conflict which has since been overtaken by jihadists.

At an event held early this month by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), Sivillon thanked attendees, including "delegations from Mali and from abroad".

The statement incensed Malian authorities, who interpreted it as meaning that Malians are foreigners in the north.

Malian Foreign Minister Tiebile Drame told reporters on Tuesday morning that Sivillon was officially "persona non grata" and that he had 24 hours to leave the country.

Olivier Salgado, the head of the 13,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, told AFP that Sivillon had been relieved of his duties.

Kidal -- like vast swathes of Mali's desert north -- lies outside of government control, despite the presence of thousands of UN and French troops.

The separatist rebellion has since given way to ethnic violence and jihadist attacks, which have been increasing across the West African country.

More than 140 Malian troops have died since September. Thirteen French soldiers also died last month in a mid-air helicopter collision while chasing jihadists in northern Mali.