Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop has pressed the UN Security Council to review the possibility of authorising a sub-regional intervention force to tackle terrorists and drug traffickers in the region.
His appeal comes days after a peace accord was signed by the government and the Taureg-led rebel coalition; and ahead of the Council’s renewal of the peacekeeping mission to the country, MINUSMA, before the end of the month.
Mali and large regions of the Sahel have become a hotbed for drugs and weapons smuggling due to porous borders and a lack of sufficient surveillance in what is considered some of the toughest terrain to police globally.
The peace deal signed in Bamako at the weekend brings new hope for the country, offering partial autonomy to the Taureg regions in the north.
But insecurity has led to trafficking that threatens peace gains and the future development of the country.
Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, explains: “Why are we asking for this specific tool? It’s because the UN peacekeeping operation is a peacekeeping operation, but we know in Mali we are not anymore … assessed by the UN staff themselves. We are not anymore technically in a peacekeeping environment. We are in a asymmetric war. We are in the terrorist and narco-traffickers environment and for that we need a response.”
Mali’s Foreign Minister has pressed the UN Security Council to review the possibility of authorising a sub-regional intervention force to tackle terrorists and drug traffickers in the region.
His appeal comes days after a peace accord was signed by the government and the Taureg-led rebel coalition; and ahead of the Council’s renewal of the peacekeeping mission to the country, MINUSMA, before the end of the month.
Mali and large regions of the Sahel have become a hotbed for drugs and weapons smuggling due to porous borders and a lack of sufficient surveillance in what is considered some of the toughest terrain to police globally.
The peace deal signed in Bamako at the weekend brings new hope for the country, offering partial autonomy to the Taureg regions in the north.
But insecurity has led to trafficking that threatens peace gains and the future development of the country.
Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, explains: “Why are we asking for this specific tool? It’s because the UN peacekeeping operation is a peacekeeping operation, but we know in Mali we are not anymore … assessed by the UN staff themselves. We are not anymore technically in a peacekeeping environment. We are in a asymmetric war. We are in the terrorist and narco-traffickers environment and for that we need a response.”
