Étiquette : Mauritania

G5 Sahel : UN Security Council’s Ministerial Meeting on the G5 Sahel – Speech by Jean-Yves Le Drian (30 October 2017)

Ministers,
Permanent Representatives,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I want to begin by thanking the secretary-general, the minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Mali, the chairperson of the African Union Commission, and the European Union representative for their respective presentations.

I also want to thank you, Mr. Secretary-General, for the presentation of your report on the deployment of the G5 Sahel Joint Force. Together with the conclusions drawn from this Council’s visit to the Sahel 10 days ago, this report offers us a very solid basis for discussing the support that should be provided to this exemplary initiative.

The facts are perfectly clear: Terrorist groups in the Sahel now represent a global threat to both regional stability and international security. Terrorists exploit our weaknesses and divisions. They are funded by drug trafficking and human trafficking; they have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to strike Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso and their desire to strike neighboring countries. This threat does not spare our citizens or our forces working alongside our partners in the Sahel. Continuer à lire … « G5 Sahel : UN Security Council’s Ministerial Meeting on the G5 Sahel – Speech by Jean-Yves Le Drian (30 October 2017) »

UN chief urges Security Council to ‘be ambitious’ in supporting Sahel anti-terror force

30 October 2017 – Stressing the urgent need to help Mali and other countries in the Sahel address cross-border terrorism and organized crime, Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday invited the United Nations Security Council to “be ambitious” in deciding how the UN supports the region’s newly-established joint force.

“The situation in Sahel challenges us all,” Mr. Guterres told the 15-member body, describing the difficult operational circumstances facing the joint force created by the Group of Five Sahel countries (G5) – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger ¬– to combat terrorism and organized criminal activity, and to promote stability and development in the region. Continuer à lire … « UN chief urges Security Council to ‘be ambitious’ in supporting Sahel anti-terror force »

In Sunni North Africa, fears of Iran’s Shi’ite shadow

 These are challenging times for North Africa’s Muslim governments. Even as Daesh is ousted from its strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the extremist group is continuing its battle against authorities in countries like Morocco, Algeria and Egypt.

On Oct. 16, the Egyptian military announced that six soldiers and at least 24 Daesh militants were killed in attacks on military outposts in North Sinai. That same weekend, Moroccan police arrested 11 members of an “extremely dangerous” Daesh-linked cell and seized chemical products used to make bombs. Algerian forces, meanwhile, have killed at least 71 Islamist fighters so far this year – the most since 2014. Continuer à lire … « In Sunni North Africa, fears of Iran’s Shi’ite shadow »