Mali

A demonstration in central Mali Saturday turned from protests about the deployment of Malian troops to Burkina Faso to the looting of a nearby U.N. supply depot, VOA’s French to Africa service and the United Nations said. About 1,000 people had been protesting outside the U.N. peacekeeping force (MINUSMA) camp near Sévaré, the French news agency AFP reported Saturday.

Al Qaeda’s West Africa affiliate on Tuesday claimed responsibility for coordinated, deadly attacks last week on two army bases in central Mali, it said in a statement. Thirty-eight soldiers were killed and dozens others went missing during attacks on bases in Boulkessi and Mondoro, in some of the worst violence seen against the army this year.

Some progress has been made towards restoring peace and stability in Mali as outlined in a fragile 2015 peace deal, yet sustainable peace developments are not happening fast enough, the Security Council heard on Tuesday.

The UN Secretary-General has strongly condemned two separate attacks on Sunday against the organization’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) which left one peacekeeper dead and four others injured.

West African leaders meet in the capital of Burkina Faso on Saturday for a summit expected to lead to an overhaul of the flailing attempt to roll back jihadism in the Sahel region. Most of the heads of ECOWAS, a grouping of 15 countries on West Africa's coast and hinterland, are expected to attend the special one-day meeting, which will also be attended by Chad, Cameroon and Mauritania. Topping their agenda: the record of the so-called G5 Sahel -- … .

Reconciliation initiatives in central Mali, to bring together local leaders and end ongoing violence, have been welcomed by the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali, Alioune Tine, who said on Monday that they should be supported “in whatever way possible.” The move follows warnings from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, that central areas of Mali, especially around Mopti, are seeing an increased level of violence, including the killing and maiming of children.

According to the UN, so far more than 150 children have been killed in 2019 … The number of child soldiers in armed groups has doubled comparing to the same period in 2018, and more than 900 schools remain closed due to insecurity.

The United Kingdom is to send a contingent of 250 troops to Mali next year, to support the UN’s peacekeeping operation in the country, MINUSMA. A statement, released via the UK Ministry of Defence website on Monday, said that the soldiers were being deployed in recognition of increased instability in the Sahel region of North Africa, with the aim of delivering “long-term and sustainable peace in Mali”.

The EU's high representative Federica Mogherini pledged €138m extra to the G5 Sahel Force in order to be better equipped to fight insurgency and terrorism in the Sahel region.