ISIS militants have almost doubled the territory they control in Mali in less than a year amid stalled peace efforts, United Nations experts have said.
“In less than a year, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara has almost doubled its areas of control in Mali,” the expert panel said in a report shared by the Associated Press, referencing the group's control of rural areas in eastern Menaka and large parts of the Ansongo area in northern Gao.
ISIS attacks in the area have also eroded trust in signatories of a 2015 peace agreement, it added, with actors appearing "to be weak and unreliable security providers” for communities targeted by the extremists.
The terror group and Al Qaeda-affiliated rivals have taken advantage of the delay in implementing the agreement to stage attacks and are looking to re-establish an Islamist state in the north of the country, as happened in 2012, the UN experts said.
The Al Qaeda affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) is now positioning itself as the sole actor capable of protecting populations against Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, the experts said in the report circulated on Friday.
Mali, which has witnessed several coups in recent years, has supported the military junta which took power last month in neighbouring Niger.
The instability there has threatened counterterror efforts across Africa's Sahel region, where experts have warned of a huge increase in ISIS and militant activity.
France and the US, which both have troops in Niger, suspended counterterror operations following the coup, while Mali's leaders have warned Ecowas, the bloc of West African states, against a military intervention there.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea have told Ecowas that sending troops into Niger would also be seen as a declaration of war against them.
With ISIS' presence waning in the Middle East, the terror group is now on the rise in Africa, experts have previously told The National.
While it has to battle rivals in Mali, it has managed to gain a strong foothold in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.
In June, Mali's junta ordered the UN peacekeeping force and its 15,000 international troops to leave after a decade of working on stemming the extremist insurgency.
The Security Council terminated the mission’s mandate on June 30.
The peacekeeping force, Minusma, also played a crucial role in facilitating peace talks and monitoring violations of the peace agreement, the experts' report said.
In June, a UN peacekeeper was killed and nine others wounded in an attack on their convoy.
More than 300 Minusma personnel were killed during the UN mandate in the country, making it the world's deadliest peacekeeping mission.
The panel said the armed groups that signed the 2015 agreement expressed concern that the peace deal could fall apart without UN mediation, “thereby exposing the northern regions to the risk of another uprising".
It also accused Russia's Wagner Group of being involved in "persistent" sexual violence in central and eastern parts of the country.
“The panel believes that violence against women, and other forms of grave abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law are being used, specifically by the foreign security partners, to spread terror among populations,” the report said.
Last month, the US sanctioned Malian officials, including the Minister of Defence, for alleged links to the Wagner Group.
Washington has also accused the paramilitary group of helping engineer the Minusma departure from Mali.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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The five pillars of Islam
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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