Ukraine

In Niger, the situation remains tense in the Tillaberi region along the border with Burkina Faso following several clashes.  Since 1 May, 51 civilians have been killed.  The United Nations and its partners are working to increase access to the affected border areas, with food security likely to worsen.

The Secretary-General expressed his shock and sadness today over the heinous mass shooting that took place at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, saying it is particularly heart-wrenching that most of the victims are children.  He extends his heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and to the entire community.

For the first time on record, the number of forcibly displaced people around the world had topped 100 million, propelled by the war in Ukraine and other conflicts, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports. 

The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has, in what it calls a major breakthrough, brokered a peace accord between the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka communities, who agreed to dialogue to protect people, livestock and property, and to find a sustainable solution to the final status of Abyei.

The following statement by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed was issued today:

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed its serious concern about armed clashes on Sunday involving indiscriminate fire and alleged use of heavy weapons in the Janzour area, a densely populated neighbourhood of Tripoli.  The current mobilization of forces by different armed groups creates tensions and increases the risk of clashes.

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports that 60 community members, including 20 women and 10 ex-combatants, are benefiting from its Community Violence Reduction project in a village in North Kivu’s Masisi Territory, where they are gaining skills in the installation and maintenance of street lighting.

The United Nations is not aware of any biological weapons programmes in Ukraine, a senior disarmament affairs official told the Security Council today, as it met to consider new information submitted by the Russian Federation alleging the existence of such weapons.

Protais Mpiranya, the last of the major fugitives indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), is confirmed to have died.  Alleged to have been a senior leader of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Mr. Mpiranya was charged with eight counts of genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as the murders of 10 Belgian United Nations peacekeepers.

With the devastating toll of war on Ukraine’s children becoming clearer each day, humanitarian efforts — punctuated by several “monumental” recent evacuations of trapped civilians — must continue to scale up, officials told the Security Council today, as the representatives of Kyiv and Moscow traded accusations of attacks on schools and educational indoctrination.