Tag: UN Africa News

Jean-Pierre Lacroix updated ambassadors on developments in the West African country, where a UN operation, known by the French acronym MINUSMA, supports political processes and restoration of state authority against a backdrop of insecurity, intercommunal violence and increasing displacement.  MINUSMA was established following fighting between Government forces and Tuareg rebels in January 2012, leading to the occupation of northern Mali by radical Islamists.    The authorities and two separate armed group… Read More

In the wake of the murder of indigenous leader Emrya Wajãpi in Brazil, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has called on the country’s authorities to “react quickly and decisively” to protect the rights of indigenous peoples on their lands. Read More

“The region has experienced a devastating surge in terrorist attacks against civilian and military targets,” Mohamed Ibn Chambas, UN Special Representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), told the Council in its first formal meeting of the year. “The humanitarian consequences are alarming”, he spelled out. In presenting his latest report, Mr. Chambas… Read More

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said some 310,000 suspected cases of the disease have been reported since then.    The UN agency and its partners have worked with the authorities to vaccinate more than 18 million children under five during 2019. However, coverage remains low in some areas, with under-fives accounting for a quarter of cases.  “We are doing our utmost… Read More

“Violence between communities in and around El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur State, had reportedly killed at least 54 people, injured 60 and displaced 40,000, since 28 December”, OCHA Spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva, adding that humanitarian partners were working to verify the displacement figures. ?Our latest update on the situation and humanitarian response in West Darfur,… Read More

Ghassam Salamé, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), was speaking to reporters in New York on Monday, following a closed-door meeting of the Security Council.  It was held after dozens of cadets were killed this past weekend in a drone attack on a military academy in the capital, Tripoli, located in western Libya and seat of the UN-recognized government.  Since April, the city has been under siege by the Libyan National Army… Read More

Saturday’s bombing reportedly took place as cadets were gathering on a parade ground at the Hadaba academy in a southern district of the capital.   The forces of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) have been laying siege to Tripoli since April, under the leadership of commander Khalifa Haftar, who is aligned with a rival administration in Tobruk, opposing the UN-backed Government… Read More

The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) made the appeal in a statement issued on Friday, expressing deep concern over the situation.  Humanitarians reported that villages were burned and camps for internally displaced people also were attacked.  “UNAMID condemns the violence and stresses the importance of resolving all disputes in a peaceful and amicable manner and calls on all parties to restrain from the… Read More

“We are very grateful that the boy is safe and relieved that this ordeal that has been ongoing for almost ten weeks is finally over”, said the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) South Sudan Chief of Mission, Jean-Philippe Chauzy. The boy was taken when fighting broke out on 27 October between armed groups in Isebi – close to the volatile… Read More

Following news that three mortars fell close to its year-old Gathering and Departure Facility (GDF), Jean-Paul Cavalieri, UNHCR Chief of Mission for Libya issued a statement urging all sides to the conflict in Libya to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. “Fortunately”, he said, “there were no casualties”. Since the fall of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been in… Read More