UNITED NATIONS – U.N. experts monitoring the implementation of sanctions on Mali are warning that the conflict-wracked West African nation and its neighbors “face intensified terrorist threats,” especially in the border area between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The Jihadist threat was raised in the experts’ report which focuses on implementation of a 2015 peace agreement. The power vacuum that was created ultimately led to an Islamic insurgency and a French-led war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013. The panel said “insecurity continues to rage and is now shifting increasingly toward the center of the country” from the north. In February 2017, the so-called “Group of Five” agreed to assemble a 5,000-strong force to combat extremist groups, organized crime and human trafficking.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 03, 2018 01:52 UTC