Gambia

The new Permanent Representative of the Gambia to the United Nations, Lang Yabou, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Civilian returns to Iraq’s newly accessible areas continue to increase since the conclusion of major counter‑Daesh military operations late last year; 3.2 million previously displaced people have now returned home, surpassing the total number of displaced in the country for the first time since the crisis began four years ago.

The new Permanent Representative of the Gambia to the United Nations, Mamadou Tangara, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Special Envoy for Yemen, has put out a statement responding to the killing of six women and a girl, as well as the wounding of dozens of people as a result of an alleged air strike that hit a funeral in the Arhab District of Sana’a Governorate on Wednesday afternoon.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya is following with concern the reported formation of parallel military forces under the name “National Guard” and their deployment in Tripoli and surrounding areas.  Special Representative Martin Kobler called for a united army under civilian control with a clear chain of command.

The Secretary-General has issued terms of reference for an impartial, independent mechanism to help investigate and prosecute those responsible for the most serious crimes committed in Syria since March 2011.

The United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) condemned today the coordinated suicide bombing attack at a hotel in Mogadishu.  The attack reportedly killed dozens of Somali civilians and soldiers, while wounding many more.  The Mission reports that Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Secretary-General told President of the Gambia Adama Barrow of his full support for his determination, and the Economic Community of West African States' historic decision, with the unanimous backing of the Security Council, to restore the rule of law in the Gambia so as to honour and respect the will of the country’s people.

The Security Council endorsed today the decisions of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union to recognize Adama Barrow as President-elect of the Gambia.