New york: The United Nations has warned of worsening security and humanitarian crises in Central Africa, noting that the repercussions of the war in Sudan and attacks by armed groups in the Lake Chad Basin are posing growing threats to stability in the region.
According to Qatar News Agency, speaking at a briefing to the UN Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General for the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee highlighted progress achieved in certain areas while pointing to increasing challenges and crises across the region. She explained that Central Africa has witnessed several significant developments since the previous briefing, including elections and the implementation of institutional reforms.
She stressed that these achievements have taken place against a "troubling backdrop" marked by worsening security and humanitarian crises, growing social and economic pressures, and, most importantly, increasing restrictions on civil and political rights.
Pobee emphasized that security remains a major concern in several countries in the region, identifying eastern Chad and the Lake Chad region as two principal hotspots of instability. She noted that the war in Sudan has had a profound impact on Chad, which has received more than 900,000 Sudanese refugees since April 2023.
She also warned that cross-border incursions and drone attacks on Chadian military positions could further regionalize the conflict. She called on the international community to intensify its efforts to end the war in Sudan and to support Chad in addressing its consequences.