UN chief says pandemic worsens Sahel security

The United Nations chief says the coronavirus pandemic has compounded “the dire humanitarian and security situations” in Mali and Africa's Sahel region

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says in a report to the Security Council obtained Thursday by The Associated Press that the deteriorating security situation “remains of grave concern with terrorist groups allied with al-Qaeda and Islamic State competing for control over areas of influence.” He says terrorist attacks on civilians, Malian and international forces are continuing in northern and central Mali, posing the most significant security threat in the north. He adds that clashes between al-Qaeda and Islamic State have also been reported

Guterres says that “the impact of COVID-19 is exacerbating the humanitarian crises” in Mali, where 3.5 million people are suffering from “food insecurity” and 757,000 are “severely food insecure.”(AP) AMS