Published on : 19/05/2022 – 06:48
At the UN, the Security Council met on the G5 Sahel on Wednesday, May 18, for a regular meeting on peace and security in Africa. Council members condemned Mali’s withdrawal from the regional force. They hope that Bamako will take its responsibilities and continue the dialogue with its neighbors to fight against the terrorist threat. They demanded a strengthening of the mandate of the Minusma.
With our correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten
All the members of the Council returned to Mali’s withdrawal from the G5 Sahel and almost all said they regretted it. On behalf of the African group, the Ghanaian ambassador insisted that a single country could not fight alone against terrorism.
Call for dialogue
He called for the resumption of dialogue between Bamako and the neighbors of ECOWAS and demanded that the meetings resume – whether that of the G5 Defense Ministers, canceled in November 2021, or that of the Heads of State, traditionally held in February.
Many Council members said they were eagerly awaiting the results of the Joint Strategic Assessment on the G5, a study spearheaded by Mahamadou Issoufou, former President of Niger. This assessment was decided in December 2021 at the UN-African Union conference and it should suggest ways to improve the G5 force.
A reinforcement?
Many are also claiming a reinforcement of the Minusma in June 2022, when his term of office is renewed.
►Also listen : “After the G5, will Mali denounce the presence of the Chadian contingent of Minusma?”