More than 1.8 million people in Mali are at risk of being in immediate need of food, the highest level since 2014, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Mali, El-Ghassim Wane, warned on Monday. Wane, before the Security Council.
Mr. Wane recalled that in 2022, 7.5 million people will need humanitarian assistance in the country, compared to 5.9 million in 2021. The total number of displaced people stands at 370,000.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Mali, who is also the head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), described the security situation as "unstable" and even "particularly worrying" in the zone of the three borders and the Center of Mali.
In central Mali, insecurity is fueled by a combination of intercommunal conflict, longstanding governance issues and the activity of violent extremist groups targeting civilians, Malian forces and MINUSMA. Mr. Wane describes the attacks in the region of Ménaka as leaving "hundreds of dead and displaced."
The UN envoy also indicated that, from January to March 2022, human rights violations had "sharply increased," leading to the death of 543 people against 128 in the previous quarter. The list of alleged perpetrators includes not only extremist groups but also Malian security forces in central Mali, he pointed out.
Regarding the political transition, the duration of which the transitional authorities have set at two years from March 2022, Mr. Wane said that over the past three months, MINUSMA had redoubled its efforts to overcome blockages.
At the same time, The Malian army had carried out bombardments near Boni at the end of May and claimed responsibility for around thirty jihadists killed. Local sources claim that Malian soldiers and their Russian auxiliaries are still present in the area.
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