18 March 2013
According to Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Edmond Mulet, the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) could be transferred to a UN stabilization mission by July 2013. The mission will be approved by the Security Council and by the Malian government.
Source: UN News Centre | Mali: UN force possible in July, senior peacekeeping official says
15 November 2012
On 14 November, the UN Security Council unanimously renewed the mandate of the European peacekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina for one more year in its Resolution 2074.
EUFOR Althea took over peace operations in Bosnia from NATO’s SFOR in 2004. It is one of the three ongoing military operations deployed by the EU in the framework of its Security and Defense Policy.
7 November 2012
On 12 October, the United Nations Security Council (UN SC) adopted a resolution, determining that the situation in Mali ‘constitutes a threat to international peace and security’. The UN SC declared its ‘readiness’ to send an international military force to assist the Malian armed forced to drive Islamists out of the north of Mali. After a coup in March 2012, much of the country is occupied and controlled by Tuareg rebels and Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda. The authorities of Mali and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were given a 45 day deadline to formulate a plan for military action led by ECOWAS. The European Union considers assisting ECOWAS with military planning and logistics and sending about 200 troops to train Mali’s army to retake the north of Mali.
Source: Reuters | EU considers sending 200 troops to train Mali army
Source: The Guardian | France to send drones to Mali in fight against al-Qaida-backed insurgents
Source: The Guardian | North Mali prepares for war as refugees dream of liberation from al-Qaida
Source: The Guardian | Islamist rebels vow assault on Malian capital if international forces attack
10 September 2012
The State Department of the United States (US) stated that Iraq is obliged under United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions to require Iranian planes, which are suspected to be flying arms into Syria over Iraqi airspace, to land in Iraq so that the cargo can be examined.
Iranian flights over Iraqi airspace were suspended in March, after the US objected, but flights resumed in July. According to US intelligence, these flights were carrying military equipment and weapons. Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki stated he was assured by Iran that these flights only carried humanitarian aid.
Source: New York Times | U.S. Presses Iraq on Iranian Planes Thought to Carry Arms to Syria
3 September 2012
Turkey’s foreign minister has requested the UN Security Council (SC) to set up refugee camps in Syria, stating that Turkey will soon not be able to cope with the large number of refugees crossing its borders. Setting up safe zones in Syria would require military intervention and installing no-fly zones. Russia and China remain opposed to such measures, blocking SC action. During an emergency session of the SC, France and the United Kingdom nevertheless indicated that they would not rule out following up on Turkey’s request. This has caused media to speculate that they may intervene even without a SC mandate, already comparing the situation with the intervention in Kosovo in the 1990s.
Source: New York Times | Threat to Syrian Civilians Is Growing, Officials Say
Source: BBC | 'Difficult' demand for refugee camps in Syria vexes UN