Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdoulaye Diop on Tuesday appealed for international intervention in Libya to combat the spread of terrorism in the Sahel region of Africa and to restore a central government.
“As long as a solution is not found to the Libyan crisis, almost everything that we are doing in Mali and throughout the Sahel, more broadly speaking, will continue to be threatened,” Diop told the UN Security Council.
Widespread militia violence has plunged Libya into chaos less than four years after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
The internationally recognized government was forced to the city of Tobruk after militias seized the capital, Tripoli, over the summer last year and set up a rival government.
Diop reiterated an appeal from leaders of Sahel communities for the Security Council and the African Union to set up an international force “to neutralize the armed groups,” but also to promote national reconciliation and set up stable institutions.
He highlighted the link between the onset of a crisis in Mali in 2012 and the civil war in Libya, which resulted in many Malians who were part of the Libyan army returning home with arms and ammunition which destabilized the nation.
Northern Mali fell under the control of ethnic Tuareg separatists and Muslim extremists after a military coup in 2012. A French-led intervention in 2013 scattered the extremists, but new bursts of violence have erupted.
In Libya, the situation is compounded by terrorists in the south who have declared allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group, “which is a source of great concern to all of us,” Diop said.
“Unless we help the Libyans to have a state structure, to have a security apparatus which is able to control these terrorist organizations, it will be just an illusion to think that we can have security and stability in the Sahel,” he said.
UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous told the council that the security situation in northern Mali remains “extremely volatile” and “very dire,” with almost daily attacks.
Since July 2013, when the UN took over peacekeeping in Mali from an African-led force, 33 peacekeepers have died and 109 have been injured, Ladsous said, adding: “No other mission in contemporary times has been so costly in terms of bloodshed.”
Diop said Mali’s president is committed to achieving a peace agreement “that would be lasting and comprehensive.”
Diop repeated his call for an intervention brigade, like the one established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with robust rules of engagement and resources to fight extremists in Mali.
Malian, French and UN forces are working to tackle the terrorist threat, while Algeria and Niger are securing their borders, he said
“The weak link remains... Libya, where something needs to be done,” Diop said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese