The African Union has voiced alarm over the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Mali and the wider Sahel region following the assassination of Defence Minister Sadio Camara….reports Asian Lite News
The African Union has strongly condemned the assassination of Mali’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara following a wave of coordinated terrorist attacks across the West African nation.
In a statement issued on Thursday after a meeting on Mali’s worsening security crisis, the AU Peace and Security Council voiced deep concern over the escalating violence, including coordinated attacks, killings and the displacement of civilians caused by terrorist groups operating in the country.
The council warned that the security situation in Mali and the wider Sahel region was deteriorating rapidly, stressing the need for a united regional and societal response to combat terrorism and violent extremism.
It said efforts to tackle the crisis must be broad based and multidimensional while respecting Mali’s sovereignty and supporting the restoration of stability and state authority across the country.
The AU also called on Mali’s transitional government to speed up the return to constitutional rule, saying this was essential for achieving long term peace and easing the suffering of civilians affected by the conflict.
The council further urged the immediate mobilisation of humanitarian assistance for displaced people and vulnerable communities, while demanding safe access for aid agencies to affected areas.
Mali’s transitional government announced on Sunday that Camara was killed after terrorists launched coordinated attacks on Saturday, including a suicide vehicle bomb attack targeting his residence.
Meanwhile, the Malian army said on Thursday that it had carried out airstrikes against terrorist positions in the northern city of Kidal.
According to the army, the strikes targeted an arms depot and logistics assets belonging to militant groups after attacks on military and government facilities in the city on Wednesday.
The military claimed that several militants were killed and key equipment, including a fuel tanker, an armed pickup truck and an armoured vehicle, was destroyed in the operation.
The army said operations against armed terrorist groups would continue across the country.
Kidal, a long troubled city in northern Mali, has become the centre of intensified military clashes in recent days following coordinated terror attacks launched across the country on April 25.
