UNITED NATIONS — The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Friday that will enable the U.N. peacekeeping force in Mali to provide support to the new 5,000-troop African force that is charged with fighting extremists in western Africa’s vast Sahel region. The French-drafted resolution asks Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to quickly conclude a technical agreement to have Mali’s peacekeepers provide operational and logistical support to the five-nation African force. The support includes medical evacuation, supply of fuel, water and rations, and the use of U.N. engineering units to establish camps in Mali. The G5 agreed in February to assemble a force to combat extremist groups, organized crime and human trafficking. The resolution “encourages the technical agreement to constitute a temporary measure toward full self-sufficiency” of the G5 force.

Source: Washington Post December 09, 2017 02:26 UTC