UN Security Council voices concern over security situation in West Africa

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday voiced concern over the security situation in West Africa and the Sahel region, particularly the threat of terrorism and violent extremism.

"Council members expressed their concern over remaining security challenges, including the threat of terrorism and violent extremism, as and when conducive to, terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel regions and their linkages to transnational organized crime," Kazakh ambassador to the United Nations Kairat Umarov, who serves as the president of the Security Council for this month, told reporters after closed-door consultations of the council.

The council members stressed the need to combat terrorism, including efforts to address conditions conducive to its spread, said Umarov.

They welcomed international efforts to mobilize support for the joint military force of the five Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

They expressed concern over widespread food insecurity, forced displacement and adverse effects of climate change and ecological changes that have negative impacts on the stability of the region, and called on the international community to support the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the population in need in the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel regions.

The Sahel is the northernmost part of sub-Saharan Africa, a vast belt stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea. Enditem