New York (dpa) – The UN Security Council said Monday Africa's Sahel region faces serious threats from terrorism and the proliferation of weapons in addition to the deteriorating humanitarian situation. High insecurity in the region was demonstrated by last week's overthrow of the president of Mali, Amadou Toure, by soldiers just one month before his term was to end. “The Security Council expresses its serious concern about the insecurity and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Sahel region,” said British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, president of the 15-nation council following a meeting to assess the situation in the Sahel. Grant said the condition in the Sahel was further complicated by the presence of “armed groups and terrorist groups, and their activities, as well as by the proliferation of weapons from within and outside the region, that threaten peace, security and stability of regional states.” The UN had warned of worsening humanitarian conditions and mounting insecurity in the wake of the crisis in Libya, which resulted in refugees and migrants as well as Libyan weapons moving across borders of Sahel countries. The council “strongly condemns” the mutinous coup in Mali and called for the restoration of constitutional order, and the holding of elections as previously scheduled, Grant said. Grant said the council welcomed emergency steps taken by the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to assist Sahel countries to deal with the food shortage. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/q30Nj Tags: Crisis, Sahel, Terrorism, UN Section: Human Rights, Latest News, West Africa
