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France at UN threatens more sanctions on Mali
[PULSE.NG] The Security Council last month put three individuals linked to gangs on a UN sanctions blacklist, the first Malian nationals to be hit by a global travel ban and assets freeze.The sanctions were imposed for hindering a peace agreement signed in 2015 by the Bamako government and gangs that is aimed at restoring stability to Mali following a brief Islamist takeover in the north. The peace deal has failed to stop violence by Islamist Death Eaters, who have also staged attacks in Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... , Niger and against UN peacekeepers. French Ambassador Francois Delattre told a council meeting that his government was "ready to propose the adoption of new (sanctions) designations when the time comes if the expectations of this council are not met." The United States renewed its warning that it will push for changes to the peacekeeping mission in Mali, possibly a major drawdown, if there is no progress. UN peacekeeping official Bintou Keita told the council that the security situation in central Mali had worsened with a spike in intercommunal violence, stoked by holy warriors groups. An attack on the Fulani community on January 1 left 37 dead in the central Mopti region. The worsening violence has led to "a dramatic increase in displaced persons by 75 per cent in December 2018, compared with June 2018," said Keita. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, however, warned that fresh sanctions will "hardly contribute" to strengthening the grinding of the peace processor. More than 13,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Mali as part of a UN mission that was established after Islamist militias seized northern Mali in 2012. They were pushed backed by French troops in 2013. Posted by: Fred 2019-01-17 |
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