Palestinian firefighters extinguish a fire that broke out after an Israeli airstrike on a house in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)“Vietnam is concerned about the deteriorating securitysituation in the Sahel region, especially in the borders among Burkina Faso,Mali and Niger, as well as the recent attacks against peacekeepers, defence andsecurity forces,” Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnamto the UN told the UNSC’s VTC open debate on peace and security in the Sahelregion (G5 Sahel).
The event was attended by UN Under-Secretary-General forPeace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Commander of the G5 Sahel joint forceOumarou Namata, and representatives from G5 Sahel countries.
Quy urged the Sahel countries, United Nations, regionaland international organisations to redouble their efforts to fight terrorismand violence extremism and prevent inter-communal conflicts.
The Vietnamese ambassador emphasised that “it is crucialfor the Sahel region to have a coherent and integrated approach to security,humanitarian issues along with promoting peace, stability, andsocio-development challenges in the Sahel.”
He voiced support the initiatives of A3+1 (Niger, Kenya,Tunisia plus St Vincent and The Grenadines) and France on the establishment ofthe UN supporting office for G5 Sahel to combat terrorism.
The meeting later discussed the escalating violencebetween Israel and Palestine, during which Ambassador Quy said “Vietnam joinswith other members in expressing our grave concerns about the escalation oftension between Israelis and Palestinians, the rising number of casualties ofboth sides, and the massive destruction of objects indispensable to thesurvival of civilian population.”
Now that the situation is on the brink of all-out war, hecalled on all international and regional actors, especially the Quartet, tointensify their efforts to avoid the scenario of the recurrence of the 2014catastrophic war, saying conflicts must be resolved through peaceful means.
“It is the time to end the cycle of violence, and it isthe time for the Security Council to have one and strong voice on the issue,”he said./.
VNA
