The United Nations (UN) has pledged continuous partnership with the Nigerian Army in tackling security challenges in the country and the Sahel region.
The Representative of the UN Secretary General for Central Africa, Mr Mahamat Saled, made the pledge when he paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, on Thursday, in Abuja.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Saled commended the efforts of the army in stemming the security challenges and activities of insurgents in Nigeria and, by extension, the Sahel region.
The UN envoy said it was crucial to adopt a regional approach and provide antidotes to terrorism and other contemporary security challenges bedevilling West Africa and the Sahel region.
He added that most of the current security challenges confronting West African states were a spill over of the Libyan crises, assuring the Nigerian army of partnership in the quest to curb the proliferation of arms and in profiling terrorism financers.
The envoy was accompanied on the visit by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in West Africa and the Sahel, Mr Francois Luncemy Fall.
In his response, the COAS, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, said that many countries across the globe were currently confronted with terrorism and other security challenges peculiar to each nation.
Yahaya stated that the Nigerian army, in conjunction with sister services and other security agencies, was making steady progress in the fight against insurgency, adding that they would not relent in ensuring the end of the menace in Nigeria.
He also emphasised the need for partnership in the areas of terrorism victims’ support, profiling of terrorism financers, arms proliferation control and technological support. (NAN)