Mali’s request for the UN to withdraw its peacekeepers by the end of the year is a “recipe for disaster”, as ISIS attacks intensify in the West African state, the US said on Monday.
“As many of us feared, the transition government's decision to close Minusma [UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali] has already triggered renewed violence on the ground,” US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the 15-member Security Council.
She warned about the potential for war and emphasised that such an event could “unleash unspeakable, unthinkable devastation on the Malian people”.
The US diplomat noted that increased instability could pave the way for the expansion of terror groups in the region.
“It would be a recipe for disaster,” she said.
The unrest, fuelled by local branches of al Qaeda and ISIS, has escalated in the past year after the country's military leaders forced French troops out, ordered the 15,000 UN peacekeepers to leave by December 31 and joined forces with the Russia's mercenary Wagner Group.
According to a UN report released on Friday, ISIS extremists have almost doubled the territory they control in Mali in less than a year.
In addition, Jama'at Nusrat Al Islam Wa Al Muslimin, a terrorist group based in Mali and active across West Africa, is “now positioning itself as the sole actor capable of protecting populations against Islamic State in the Greater Sahara”.
The UN was forced to speed up the withdrawal process this month after a surge in fighting.
Reporting to the Security Council, El-Ghassim Wane, head of the peacekeeping mission in Mali, said four UN peacekeepers had been wounded in two attacks during withdrawal from the Ber camp in the north, amid tension between the Co-ordination of Azawad Movements – a coalition of Tuareg independence and Arab nationalist groups – and the Wagner-backed Malian junta.
He said almost 1,100 UN peacekeepers have so far left Mali.
However, the UN diplomat warned, the second phase of the withdrawal will be very challenging due to a tight calendar and dangerous security situation.
It will involve abandoning six bases in northern, north-eastern and central Mali by December 15.
“This phase will be incredibly difficult indeed,” Mr Wane told the council.
The first phase of the withdrawal started on July 17 and ended on Friday.
Nevertheless, he said, the withdrawal at the request of the Malian authorities and subsequent Security Council resolutions, remains “right on track” and should be completed by December 31.
Closing a mission that was built over a decade and that has to be wrapped up within a period of six months, he said, is a “very complex and ambitious endeavour” and is made even more challenging by a host of other concerns linked to human climate, logistics and infrastructure.
He said the military coup in neighbouring Niger also has affected the UN withdrawal operation.
“It is vital that we are able to transport equipment and materials through Niger” to reach key ports, he said.
James Kariuki, Britain's deputy ambassador to the UN, suggested the council consider revising the withdrawal timetable “if needed”, as a rushed operation would have “security implications for the whole region”.
Mr Wane stressed that even though Minusma is leaving Mali, the world body through its agencies, funds and programmes will “remain in the country”.
Over the past decade, more than 300 UN peacekeepers have been killed in Mali, making it the deadliest and most expensive peacekeeping mission in the world with a $1.2 billion budget.
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When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
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In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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The burning issue
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Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
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Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
