Panafrican News Agency

War in Libya: Ex-UN official says it will "marginalize" the Sahel

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - Saying that the risk of "marginalization" of the Sahel region is real, Mr. Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, retired senior official of the United Nations (UN) and several times representative of the UN Secretary General in different regions (Somalia, Great Lakes, West Africa and Sahel), has warned that the situation has been worsened by the crisis in Libya.

He said this is added to the serious security crisis that has prevailed in the Sahel since 2012.

Abdallah said certain great powers and regional war lords in Libya have also worsened the situation.

In a declaration made Saturday with PANA, Abdallah's comments come 48 hours before the summit in Pau (South of France) to bring together the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the heads of state of the G5 Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania , Niger and Chad).
 
The meeting aims to clarify the position of African leaders vis-a-vis the military presence of France through the operation "Barkhane" after the death of 13 soldiers in North Mali in November and the recurrent demonstrations demanding the withdrawal of foreign forces from this country and the entire Sahel region.
 
Abdallah noted "between Libya and the Sahel, since the Gaddafi regime, it is the law of communicating vessels that permanently governs relations.
 
"We pretend to ignore it and even hide this unhealthy reality. Now, with the entry of Turkey into Libya, which joins three other countries of the Middle East there, the internationalization of the war turns to a confrontation of 'all against all' while the Russia / Africa summit, organized, it a few weeks ago, confirms new hints of the Cold War ”.
 
Countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt support Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who is trying to conquer Tripoli from the government of National Accord, recognized by the international community and supported by Qatar and Turkey.                         

Abdallah drew attention to "the new Libyan issues, which are highly more strategic than those of the Sahel - because Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, oil, gas and East/West.
 
The Sahel risks becoming just the appendix to a busy international agenda.
 
At the same time, the Armed Terrorist Groups (ATGs) continue to gain ground towards the South, the Gulf of Guinea countries and therefore the Atlantic.
 
"So we must go beyond the complaint and find an answer," added the retired UN official.
 
He advocates the continuation of the military response with the allies, but also an internal opening of the powers in place towards the opposition and civil society "because, to make war effectively, the internal front must be consolidated and armies must be close and benefiting from the support of local communities ”.
 
Abdallah positively appreciated the regular consultations between the new Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, and his opposition.

Ghazouani is due to assume the presidency of the G5 Sahel from February.

-0- PANA SAS/IS/KND/VAO 12Jan2020