UN says many lives lost daily in Africa’s Sahel Crisis

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. peacekeeping chief is warning that the crisis in Africa’s Sahel region remains volatile, with insecurity and instability seriously undermining prospects for development and many lives lost every day as a result of terrorist attacks. Jean-Pierre Lacroix said Friday that “millions of people are displaced. Children can no longer go to school, and primary health care remains inaccessible for many” while the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging. He spoke at a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Sahel force set up by five African nations — Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania —  to fight the growing terrorist threat.