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UN mission on impact of Libyan crisis on Sahel region heads to Mauritania

Migrant workers from sub-Saharan Africa sit by the sea in Benghazi, eastern Libya
Migrant workers from sub-Saharan Africa sit by the sea in Benghazi, eastern Libya

UN mission on impact of Libyan crisis on Sahel region heads to Mauritania

A United Nations mission to assess the impact of the recent turmoil in Libya on the Sahel region is heading to Mauritania for talks with top officials in the West African nation, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson announced today.

The mission, dispatched by Mr. Ban, has already visited Mali, Niger and Chad, to discuss issues ranging from migration and humanitarian assistance to counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism.

This year’s violent uprising in Libya, which led to the overthrow of the long-standing regime of Muammar al-Qadhafi and the deaths of thousands of civilians, also resulted in the displacement of thousands of people, mainly to other countries in the immediate region.

Headed by Sam Bassey Ibok, deputy director of the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), the UN mission comprises representatives of the UN and the African Union (AU) in the humanitarian, development, political, peacekeeping, peacebuilding, migration, counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism fields.

After visiting Mauritania, the team is slated to travel to Abuja, Nigeria, for meetings with representatives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and then to Dakar, Senegal, for a briefing with Said Djinnit, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa.