U.N. Warns of Sahel Spillover from Libya Turmoil

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The chaos in Libya, where Islamic State fighters are said to be gaining a foothold, threatens to engulf Sahel countries and must be quickly brought under control, a U.N. envoy warned Thursday.

Ethiopian diplomat Hiroute Guebre Sellassie told the Security Council that the humanitarian and security crises in the band of semi-arid land south of the Sahara desert were worsening, pointing to turmoil in Libya as a key factor.

"If the situation in Libya is not quickly brought under control, many states in the region could be destabilized in the near future," said the U.N. envoy for the Sahel.

Libya has been sliding deeper into crisis, torn by rival governments and parliaments battling powerful militias, despite U.N. efforts to broker talks on ending the violence.

Last month, the Security Council added the Libyan group Ansar al-Sharia to its terror list over its links to al-Qaida and for running training camps for Islamic State fighters sent to Syria and Iraq. 

Guebre Sellassie said terrorist and criminal networks in Libya were developing closer ties to Mali and northern Nigeria, dealing in arms sales and drug trafficking among other illegal trade.

Close to 20,000 arms have poured into the Sahel from Libya and most of the 18 tons of cocaine, worth $1.25 billion, sent to West Africa transits through the region, she said.

Human trafficking is rife, with children making up 60 percent of the victims.

And acute malnutrition is on the rise, with 6.4 million people now suffering from food shortages, up from five million at the beginning of the year. 

The number of people driven from their homes has doubled from 1.6 million in January to 3.3 million.

"We need to put a lot more effort to resolve the Libyan crisis that is threatening to destabilize the entire region," the envoy told reporters after her meeting with the 15-member council.

"The longer the wait, the greater the chances are that we will have many more Mali-like crises."

Northern Mali was occupied by Islamist groups in April 2012 and imposed a brutal rule before being driven out by French troops nine months later, but the situation remains volatile.

Guebre Sellassie called for greater coordination from regional players in addressing security threats, including from Boko Haram, which has extended its operations from northern Nigeria to Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

"This has now become a regional concern," she said.

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