Africa's Sahel needs international support to fight militants, UN says

NEWS WIRES

16 May 2023 at 7:28 pm·1-min read

Africa’s Sahel region has become a hot spot for violent extremism, but the joint force set up in 2014 to combat groups linked to the Islamic State, al-Qaida and others has failed to stop their inroads, and a senior UN official warned Tuesday that without greater international support and regional cooperation the instability will expand toward West African coastal countries.

“Resolute advances in the fight against terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime in the Sahel desperately need to be made,” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee told a UN Security Council meeting.

The counterterrorism force, now comprised of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger, lost Mali a year ago when its ruling junta decided to pull out. Pobee said the force hasn't conducted any major military operations since January.

She said the force is adjusting to new realities: France moving its counterterrorism force from Mali to Niger due to tensions with the junta and Mali's decision to allow Russian mercenaries from Wagner to deploy on its territory.

(AP)