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More soldiers won't help Mali, talks with jihadists might: U.N.
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations’ top humanitarian official in Mali urged more engagement with armed groups including jihadists, and more aid and development funding, saying on Monday that extra troops would not help to stabilize the country."More aid and funding...which we'll administer for you, of course. With our usual cut" Islamist groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State operate across northern and central Mali despite constant efforts to drive them back. More than 200,000 people are displaced and many communities have no local government or means of defense. The former colonial power, France, on Sunday pledged another 600 soldiers to the 4,500 it has tackling armed groups in the Sahel or with a 14,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in the region. Ute Kollies, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Mali, told journalists in Geneva that the country was at a watershed, and complained of a lack of international support. The funds received by OCHA in Mali last year amounted to just 5% percent of the $3 billion spent by armies there. Posted by: Besoeker 2020-02-04 |
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