Mali orders UN human rights official to leave the country

By BABA AHMED
Associated Press

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s government has ordered the U.N. peacekeeping mission’s human rights chief to leave the country by Tuesday. In a statement, the government declared Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali persona non grata. Mali’s government has been facing growing questions about the human rights record of the military and the use of Russian mercenaries. In announcing the expulsion, the government criticized Andali for choosing a person to represent Malian civil society at a recent U.N. Security Council hearing. Mali’s government has taken issue with Aminata Dicko, who denounced alleged killings by the Malian army and the shadowy Russian military contractor Wagner Group.