excerpts
Burkina Faso
Starting off with Burkina Faso: the Secretary‑General is closely following the reported attacks on the Embassy of France and the Army Headquarters in Burkina Faso’s capital that took place early this morning. He spoke briefly by phone with the President of Burkina Faso this morning to express his solidarity. The Secretary‑General strongly condemns the attacks and is concerned over the reported casualties and injuries. We are in contact with the authorities, to whom we have expressed our solidarity. The Secretary-General has asked his Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, to travel to Burkina Faso as soon as possible to personally express the UN’s solidarity to the Government and people of Burkina Faso in these difficult times.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Today we are sharing with you some of the findings of the Special Investigation on recent attacks against the UN peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Special Investigation team, led by former Assistant Secretary‑General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions, Dmitry Titov, also included military and security experts, political and logistical officers and two senior officers of the Tanzanian People’s Defence Forces. It concluded that the three attacks against UN peacekeepers were carried out using a similar modus operandi and that all available evidence points to the ADF [Allied Democratic Forces] as the perpetrators of these attacks. The team found a number of gaps in the training and posture of the UN peacekeepers and its Force Intervention Brigade. It also recommends that the Mission, Headquarters here in New York and troop‑contributing countries should actively pursue a strategy aimed at rendering the Force Intervention Brigade more robust, agile and better suited for offensive operations, especially in remote and difficult terrains. Beyond the military operations, the investigation team also underscored the importance of a reinforced engagement with regional political actors and stakeholders to better understand and tackle the threat posed by the Allied Democratic Forces. Based on the findings of the investigation team, the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Congo — in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — has updated its action plan on improving security of peacekeepers. It has also installed perimeter lighting, upgraded the communications infrastructure and enhanced the security perimeters at several of its bases. There will be a note to correspondents with more details.
Mali
Our colleagues at the Peacekeeping Mission in Mali today expressed concern following tensions between communities in the northern town of Gao. The Mission urges all to avoid any unilateral action that could exacerbate existing tensions. It reinforced its security support, as well as its good offices.