Operation Barkhane

As Russia’s Wagner Group Operates in Mali, the Country’s Civilian Deaths Multiply

• May 31, 2022

The number of uninvestigated civilian deaths in Mali is rising but regional bodies and the governments responsible are not willing to take action. From 2018 to 2021, an independent Malian-based news site, sahelien.com, recorded six incidents where 43 civilians were killed in mixed operations between France’s Operation Barkhane and the Malian military. Only one …

Africa, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, UN Peacekeeping

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As French Troops Leave Mali, Will the UN Mission Face Deadlier Risks?

Clair MacDougall

• March 23, 2022

As the world’s deadliest United Nations mission, in Mali, registered its first two peacekeeper deaths for 2022 from improvised explosive devices, uncertainty looms over the role that the French military operation Barkhane will play in helping protect UN bases from fatal attacks. Mali’s military junta ordered the French troops out of the country in …

Africa, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Humanitarian Aid Is France’s Big Theme for July

Stéphanie Fillion

• July 1, 2021

France is in the diplomatic spotlight at the United Nations as it’s not only leading the Security Council for the month of July, but it is also just finishing up hosting the long-awaited Generation Equality Forum, a UN-led gathering that brings together governments, corporations and citizens groups to secure commitments for achieving gender equality. …

Africa, General Assembly, Humanitarian Aid, Security Council Presidency, UN Peacekeeping

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

Clair MacDougall

• 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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UN Probe Details Atrocities in Mali and Civilian Deaths From French Airstrikes

Clair MacDougall

• February 8, 2021

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — A recent United Nations investigation has documented years of grave human-rights violations, including war crimes and other atrocities, in Mali that have gone unpunished as the UN peacekeeping mission there struggles to stabilize the troubled West African nation. A highly detailed, 336-page report on the abuses, obtained in full by …

Africa, Gender Violence, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations

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

Dulcie Leimbach

• June 24, 2019

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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WORLDVIEWS

Can the G5 Force Work Counterterrorism Magic in Africa’s Sahel Region?

Signe Marie Cold-Ravnkilde

• June 15, 2017

Although the plan to deploy a West African troop contingent, called the G5 Sahel Joint Force, presents an opportunity to improve much-needed cooperation among the Sahel countries, it will not be a game-changer in the fight against the persistent security challenges in the region. Yet, without adequate financial and logistical support from the United …

Africa, Terrorism, WORLDVIEWS

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As Terrorist Threats Rise in Mali, the Dutch Slowly Pull Out of Peacekeeping

Julie Vanderperre

• November 10, 2016

The Dutch contingent of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali is withdrawing its seven helicopters from the operation by spring, leaving a wide hole in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering for the mission that desperately needs those assets. With no immediate supplier for replacement helicopters in sight, the withdrawal presents an additional strain on the …

Africa, Peace and Security, UN Peacekeeping

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Snakes, Scorpions and Red Tape: Europeans Adjust to the UN Mission in Mali

Dulcie Leimbach

• February 11, 2016

Since its rollout in 2013, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali has been actively recruiting more European troops to strengthen its ranks of police, military and civilian personnel from African and Asian countries, typical sources for UN missions. The mission’s main mandate is to protect civilians, stabilize the country and carry out a …

Africa, Terrorism, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations

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Attacks in West Africa Show Regional Security Reliance on France and US

Nabila El Hadad

• February 9, 2016

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — It was about 7:30 p.m. when the meeting began on the fourth floor of the Splendid Hotel here on Jan. 15 in this capital city. Fourteen people were gathered to discuss the launching of a humanitarian association, with a Burkina government minister present. Phones were put in silent mode. While …

Africa, Terrorism

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The UN’s Mission in Mali: A Deadly Fight Against Terrorists

Dulcie Leimbach

• January 18, 2015

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, the most demanding and bloodiest operation in the organization’s global portfolio, is moving its major functions from its base in Bamako, the capital, to Gao, a remote city also on the Niger River, and other camps in the north. The goal is to keep a vigilant eye …

Africa, Libya, Peace and Security, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations

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UN Peacekeeping Upgrades Its Reactions to Conflicts and Adds Surveillance Tools

Barbara Crossette

• November 11, 2014

By the time United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon named a panel in October to review peacekeeping comprehensively for the first time in more than 14 years, innovations in technology and intelligence-gathering to make UN missions more effective had already been introduced by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The strategic and tactical changes, some …