UN chief stresses need for stability in African Sahel



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YAOUNDE from Cameroon

The UN chief on Tuesday called for peace and stability in Africa’s Sahel region, where civilians pay the price for conflict.

“Despite recent promising developments, including the peaceful holding of the elections, I remain concerned about the deterioration of the security situation in the region, in particular in Liptako-Gourma, where the spiral of violence is aggravating an already difficult humanitarian situation,” Antonio Guterres said via a video link during a G5 Sahel summit in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena.

“The upcoming deployment of Task Force Takuba, made up of European special forces in coordination with the G5 Sahel, illustrates this mobilization, and I thank the countries involved,” he said.

He said the G5 Sahel had a key role to play in resolving the crisis.

African peace support and counterterrorism operations must be given a UN Security Council Chapter VII mandate and sustained funding, including through assessed contributions, the chief of staff said. the UN.

He said the civilian population was paying the price for the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel. Development, the rule of law and good governance are the keys to stability.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated vulnerabilities, including economic and health challenges, and pushed more than 6 million people into extreme poverty, according to Guterres.

There are more than 2 million displaced people and millions more face acute food insecurity and all this against the backdrop of a major climate crisis, he added.

The G5 Sahel is an institutional framework for coordinating regional cooperation in development policies and security issues in West Africa.

It was formed on February 16, 2014 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, during a summit of five Sahel countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

The current summit took place on Monday and Tuesday.

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