The UN Security Council is in Mali and Burkina Faso for an up-close look at the worrisome Sahel region.

A jihadist insurgency is showing no signs of weakening and is driving mass displacement in the region.

Led by France, Germany and Ivory Coast, the visit will be the council’s fourth to Mali since 2014 and second to Burkina Faso.



The investigations [on the summary executions of the army] must be conducted impartially by the courts.

“This cooperation [between UNMISMA and the G5 Sahel] was limited, in its implementation, within the borders of Mali and the wish of the G5 Sahel, is that it should extend beyond the borders of Mali,” said Alpha Barry, Burkina Faso Foreign Minister.

World powers have been divided over how to confront the Islamist threat in the Sahel, with France at odds with the United States over UN funding for a five-nation regional force battling jihadists.

“The investigations [on the summary executions of the army] must be conducted impartially by the courts and the perpetrators must be punished, a strong message must be sent to the victims, “ said Christoph Heusgen, German Ambassador to the UN.

According to UN humanitarian offici als, around 4.3 million people have been driven from their homes in the worsening violence that has engulfed the Sahel, including one million over the past year.Source: africanews.com