G5 Sahel force yet to attain full operational capability: UN official

UNITED NATIONS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior UN peacekeeping official said Wednesday that a young five-member joint force in Africa's Sahel region has yet to attain full operational capability.

Backed by France, five countries of the Sahel region -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger -- last year agreed to set up the G5 Sahel force to fight terrorists.

Briefing the Security Council, Bintou Keita, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said since the authorization of the joint force by the African Union last April, and the renewal of its mandate last month, "notable progress" has been made, including the deployment of troops on the ground, and setting up of command posts and sector headquarters.

"Nonetheless, a lot of work remains ahead of us. The operationalization of the joint force has incurred delays and has yet to attain full operational capability," she said, calling on the five member states to deploy remaining troops as soon as possible.

While applauding the international community for their support, she said in the medium to long term, it will be challenging to sustain funding momentum for the joint force.

She also noted that the UN depends on others to be able to implement the support measures it has been mandated to provide by Security Council Resolution 2391.

In the resolution, the Security Council requested the secretary-general to conclude a technical agreement among the UN, the EU and the Sahel states, with a view to providing support to the joint force through the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, or MINUSMA, in cross-border counter-terrorist operations. Enditem