Attachments
I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2391 (2017) of 8 December 2017, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General, in close coordination with the members of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and the Niger – and the African Union, to report on the activities of the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel and the support provided by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in this regard. The Council adopted resolution 2640 (2022) on 29 June 2022, extending the mandate of MINUSMA, including enhanced support from MINUSMA to the Joint Force, as authorized by the Council in resolutions 2391 (2017) and 2531 (2020). The present report covers the period from 9 November 2022 to 8 May 2023.
2. Since the withdrawal of Mali from the G5 Sahel and its institutions on 15 May 2022, the other States members have continued to advocate for Mali to rejoin the Group. The Joint Force is being restructured to focus on both operational coordination and the conduct of joint operations. Meanwhile, Mali has strengthened its military cooperation with Burkina Faso and the Niger at the strategic and operational levels.
3. The security situation in the Sahel continued to be marked by terrorism and violent extremist groups frequently targeting border areas, in particular the LiptakoGourma region in the tri-border area of Burkina Faso, Mali and the Niger. Since the beginning of 2023, the situation has deteriorated further with an upsurge in clashes between the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin as they vie to extend their respective areas of influence and control major supply routes. In Burkina Faso, the number of civilian deaths reported in February reached its highest level in recent years as a result of offensives by Islamist militant groups. The number of civilians killed in February was nearly double the average monthly death toll for 2022. In addition, attacks by Sahel-based violent extremist groups in the northern parts of West African coastal States continue to be a growing concern.