Following in the footsteps of its European partners, Britain too has cut short its troop deployment with the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Mali, six months earlier than planned.
The Elysee Palace has announced an end to France’s anti-militant operation in Africa’s Sahel region, but has left in its wake incidents of rights abuses committed by the French military yet to be prosecuted.
The coup is the latest in a string of military takeovers in the Sahel region in the last two years, often accompanied by large protests in support of the putschists.
Rebel groups accused the interim government representatives of creating a “bad atmosphere” at talks and announcing the August 20 national dialogue without any consultation.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said fertiliser and energy prices rose in the past year, adding they would impact all harvests including rice and corn.
“A combination of violence, insecurity, deep poverty and record-high food prices is exacerbating malnutrition and driving millions to the fringes of survival,” according to the UN.
As violence aggravates existing crises, 15% of Burkina Faso's population is currently faced with food insecurity, and 1 in 10 children suffer from malnutrition, says the Red Cross.
Mali says it killed 203 militants in the central region last month, but activists and Human Rights Watch say some 300 civilians were massacred in "the worst single atrocity" reported in the country's decade-long armed conflict.
Mali's army also said that it seized large quantities of weapons, according to the statement.
The French president is learning yet another hard lesson in foreign policy mere weeks before the April presidential election.
Attack on lorry in Tillaberi region, a flashpoint zone where frontiers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali converge, leaves 18 people dead and many wounded, officials say.
Malian authorities said columns of armed insurgents on motorbikes had pinned down the army unit, but the troops killed more than 50 militants despite losing eight of their own.
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for all latest in-depth, on the ground reporting from around the world.
Copyright © 2022 TRT World.
Like
Follow