"PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS"

The United Nations and humanitarian partners launched an appeal for $751 million “to meet the urgent needs of 5.7 million people, over half of whom are women and children” in Mali, a UN spokesperson said. UNIFEED

Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix joined a patrol of the Blue Line with Ghanaian peacekeepers and Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers. UNIFIL

Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix witnessed a fuel handover from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to strengthen the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces. UNIFIL

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Mali, El-Ghassim Wane, said that the security environment in the country had remained complex in recent months, particularly in the Center and the tri-border area between Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. UNIFEED

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, began his visit to Lebanon today by meeting Lebanese officials in Beirut. UNIFIL

A steady stream of spontaneous returnees has been making their way home as a local peace initiative in Western Equatoria State’s Tambura area, supported by the UN Mission in South Sudan, has resulted in relative calm and security. UNMISS

According to the Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), mass graves containing the bodies of 42 civilians, including 12 women and six children, have been discovered in the village of Nyamamba, a UN spokesperson told reporters. UNIFEED

Briefing reporters in Juba on Friday, the head of the UN in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom said, “It will be crucial that South Sudan meets all its critical benchmarks, particularly those that are time bound, and this would require a sense of urgency in the coming year.” UNMISS

According to the Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the situation in Ituri’s Djugu territory remains tense after the recent spate of attacks by members of the CODECO armed group, a UN spokesperson informed. UNIFEED

The UN peacekeeping mission in Abyei (UNISFA) responded rapidly to quell violence in the village of Rumamer, in the southern part of Abyei, after an attack that took place today and resulted in 13 people being killed, a UN Spokesperson informed. UNIFEED