G5 Sahel force

A Wedding Party Hit By French Forces in Mali Killed Mostly Civilians, UN Report Says

March 31, 2021

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — From above, the photographs show a stretch of charred land in the middle of the desert and a mass grave covered in dried tree branches, where people living around Bounti, a village in central Mali, said those who had been killed by French airstrikes were buried. On the ground were …

Africa, Human Rights, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Niger Brings the Voice of the Sahel Into the UN Security Council

September 1, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

Niger hasn’t been a member of the Security Council for almost 40 years, and now that it has a voice on one of the world’s most visible platforms, it intends to use it to build more alliances with influential world powers while furthering a regional agenda. September will require Niger, a landlocked country in …

Africa, Security Council Presidency

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A Survey on Mali for Malians: What They Want for Their Country

June 24, 2019

by Dulcie Leimbach

Since 2012, a German political think tank has surveyed Malians regularly on their country’s current affairs across a legion of crises. These include the 2013 jihadist incursion in the nation, the French-led militarization to oust the jihadists, the post-conflict stabilization work done by the United Nations and a new cycle of intercommunal violence erupting …

Africa, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Security Council Presidency: Two Old Friends, France and Germany, Now Share an Office

March 4, 2019

by Stéphanie Fillion

As a united front in the fight to preserve the European Union, France and Germany are about to gain a global audience. During March and April, their top United Nations ambassadors, François Delattre and Christoph Heusgen, will take turns — in alphabetical order — presiding over the Security Council, marking the first time for twin …

Climate and Environment, Gender-Based Violence, Security Council Presidency

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WORLDVIEWS

The G5 Sahel Force, Failing the Region and Failing Itself

December 16, 2018

by Joe Penney

BAMAKO, Mali — The G5 Sahel Force was conceived to enable greater coordination among five countries in the Sahel region of West Africa in fighting jihadist groups and to strengthen regional administration and development while relieving the United Nations mission in Mali of those burdens. Yet ever since the group — Burkina Faso, Chad, …

Africa, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

The UN Base in Timbuktu: A Demanding Deployment in the Sahara

October 30, 2017

by Benoit Bryche

TIMBUKTU — Who wants peace in Mali? If everyone says they want it, why is carrying out the 2015 peace agreement and its cease-fire so difficult? Part of the challenge for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali is not only helping to implement the agreement in the major cities, such as Timbuktu, but …

Africa, Terrorism, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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GEOPOLITICS

The UN Peacekeeping Mission in Mali Escapes Trump’s Hatchet

June 30, 2017

by Susan Manuel

After a month of contentious debate between the United Nations Security Council and UN budget committees, agreement has been reached for the UN to stay focused on Mali and the Sahel region, where terrorism is threatening to destabilize the area. The region extends across Africa from east to west in an arc right below …